The Legend Of Spyro: Operation DarkStar
by TMHB77
Summary: The sequel to black september! Spyro, Flame, and their Human friend Austin must return to the human realms to eliminate, once and for all, the evil that threatens both realms. Now rated T!
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

**TMHB- well guys, its time for the sequel to black september!**

**CROWD-boo! hiss!**

**TMHB-if anyone wants to use any OC's of mine, just tell me so I can read your fic!**

PROLOGUE 

The beach. Is there a more comfortable place to relax? Not to Spyro and his friends.

We rejoin Spyro, asleep on the beach, with Flame, Snow and Ember watching Austin in the water.

"What did he say this was called again?" Flame asked raising an eyebrow

"Surfing. It looks pretty fun." Ember said as Austin rode one particularly large wave in to shore on a surfboard he fashioned out of a fallen tree.  
"Ok guys, who's next?" he said throwing his board onto the beach.

"Where is Spy- oh" he saw him asleep on the sand.

"Geez even on vacation, sleep is his priority!"  
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. See you guys inside." Austin said as he left for the cabin.

After he left, Snow turned to Flame and put her head on his chest.

"Do you know when you have to go back to the human realms?"

"No. Austin said he will let us know when its time."  
Austin went inside the cabin and found it empty.  
"Where did Hunter and Bianca…oh."  
He saw the closed bedroom door.  
"He is a cheetah, and she is a rabbit. How does that even work?" he thought aloud as he began to assemble various food items he had brought from his realm between two bread slices.  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
Spyro awoke from his beach slumber and stood stretching.  
"where did Austin go?" he yawned

"Inside the cabin. Why?" Ember asked

"He said he was making me something, and I want to see if whatever it is is done."  
Spyro walked into the front door and saw Austin with a huge sandwich before him, at least a foot and a half tall. And his blade was raised above his head, ready to slice.

"Austin, please tell me you weren't about to cut a sandwich with the same blade you kill things with."

Austin looked at his blade, and then retracted it.  
"no…" he said slowly grabbing a knife out of the drawer.  
"Have you seen Hunter and Bianca lately?"

Spyro put his hand on the handle of the door,

"Spyro don't open the-!" too late. He opened it and when he did three yells were heard.

"WHOA!"  
"AAHHH!"  
"EEWWW!"

Spyro quickly closed the door and rubbed his eyes.  
"Why am I always the one to walk in on them?"

Austin was on the floor laughing.

"Dude…I…the look on your face…I can't breathe…"

"Yeah, yeah I'm sure it was hilarious. Did you finish that thing you were making for me?"

"Yes…it's over there…" Austin pointed to a white sheet while trying to catch his breath.

Spyro removed it and found something he had seen before.  
"Hey I've seen one of these before! Hunter has one! Whats it called again?"  
"It's called a skateboard. Go try it out!"

The rest of the day drifted by as lazily as every summer day before it.  
Spyro, Austin and Flame were charged with gathering up all of the human weapons that the Sorcerer had brought in through the portal when he was alive.  
It took a while, but eventually, they rounded up every last gun and bullet in Avalar, and piled them up in the center of the village.

"Aren't you going to throw yours in the pile?" Snow asked

"What?! I can't throw Julia in with the rest of those unrefined killing sticks. She is a finely tuned weapon of death, and she stays with me."  
"You named your gun Julia?"  
"Yup."

"Why?"

"It just had a nice ring to it. Plus whoever had it before me, carved it on the grip. She has gotten me out of some pretty sticky situations in the past."

Ignitus walked into the center of the village where the pile of guns was.  
"Are these all of them Austin?"  
"Yes sir. Every last gun and bullet, right here. Care to do the honors?"  
"Sure. Elders, take your places." The elders stood at four corners of the weapons pile, and blew fire, melting them all down until they were nothing but a molten puddle.  
Weeks past after the meltdown of the weapons, and Avalar was exactly how it was before Austin arrived.

The sun rose on a warm end of summer day, and Spyro rolled over on his bed to see if Austin was still sleeping, as he usually was. But not this time. This time, he was up, and had full battle dress on and was sitting out on a boulder outside Spyro's cave.  
"Why are you up so early? and why are you wearing…oh…its time isn't it?"  
"Yeah, it is." Austin said somberly.  
"I got the call from Jessica last night. The western hemisphere is on its way back to normalcy, but we still have to free the east."

"You left Jessica in charge?"  
"Yea. She kept talking about wanting to be the first woman president or something I wasn't really listening. Anyway, get ready, wake Ember up so we can say goodbye, then we have to go get Flame and tell him."

Spyro woke Ember, which in retrospect, was probably a poor choice, because she was on the verge of hysterics.

"Please promise me you won't get hurt…I love you spyro…Austin, you don't get hurt either ok? Bring my Spyro back to me in one piece."

"Don't worry Ember, I'll keep an eye on him."

They left Spyro's cave and flew to Flames, where a similar situation occurred.  
after all their sad goodbyes and promises to come back in one piece, they met in the center of dragon village, where a crowd had gathered, to cheer them to victory, the three of them, becoming quite famous in Avalar. (Except for Spyro, whom everyone already knew)  
"well guys…are you ready?" Austin asked

They both nodded, and grabbed his arm. He entered the coordinates, and in a flash of extremely bright light, they were gone.

**TMHB-yes, its kinda short, but its just the prologue**

**AUSTIN-Pfft some prologue. I didnt kill anything.**

**TMHB- do you have to kill something every chapter?**

**AUSTIN- nah, I just like to mess with you!**

**SPYRO- messing with the author probably isnt the smartest thing to do Austin...**

**TMHB-listen to him. plus dont you have half a planet to liberate?**

**AUSTIN-Yeah Yeah...back to work boys!**


	2. Chapter 2 One Way Trip

CHAPTER 1- ONE WAY TRIP

The trio were flying as fast as they remembered through the same multicolored light tunnel they had always zipped through when using the professors teleporter.  
They landed in a heap on the hard concrete floor of a huge hangar that Flame and Spyro remembered from when they stayed here while liberating this place.  
"Nice landing boys." Jessica said standing in front of them with her arms folded in her presidential attire.  
"Teleportation is no picnic sweetheart." Austin said picking himself off the floor.  
"No time for small talk Austin, we need to get you guys ready to leave."

"Leave? Where are we going?" Flame asked.  
"East, into mainland china." Austin said.  
"Austin, this may surprise you, but I have no idea where that is." Flame said sarcastically  
"Don't worry, I'm the pilot, I know where we are going."  
"What do you mean the pilot? Can't we just fly there ourselves?" Spyro asked.  
"That would take waaaaay to long. We can only go about 80 mph by ourselves, but in what we'll be using, we can go…oh…I'd say about 700, 750 if we go with the wind."  
"How?"

"Because we will be in this!" Austin pressed a button on the wall and a large mechanical door inside the hangar opened to reveal a three seat fighter aircraft, bristling with missiles, bombs, and other weapons.  
"I had Rusty custom build an aircraft for our trip." Austin said  
"Who is Rusty?" Spyro asked walking around the aircraft, taking in its detail.  
The cockpit opened with a loud mechanical noise and a hiss as it depressurized, and a small dark haired mechanic jumped down from it, his blue jumpsuit stained with oil.  
"Guys, this is Rusty, our top mechanic. Rusty, this is-"  
"Spyro and Flame! I've read Intel. files about you two!"  
"hmm…that's funny…I seem to remember those files being TOP SECRET!"  
"yeah…um…I'll catch up with you guys later!" Rusty disappeared behind the other aircraft in the hangar.  
"Anyway, the plane has been loaded up with everything we need for the journey, are you guys ready?"  
They nodded and three ladders were brought to the side of the fighter, and they climbed in, Austin in the front, Spyro in the middle, and Flame in the back.  
As the glass lowered over the cockpit, Austin gave a solute to his men and they dropped theirs.  
He put on his helmet and Spyro and Flame put theirs on, theirs being specially made so their spikes and horns weren't restricted.  
"Can you guys hear me ok?" Austin said over the radio.  
"Yes"  
"Yea. Why are we wearing this?" Spyro asked  
"Because, we are flying higher than you've ever been before, and the oxygen is limited up there."  
"What? How high? Four hundred? Five hundred feet?"  
"Try 80,000 Spyro."  
"Wow…what are all these buttons for?" Flame asked  
"only touch the ones I tell you to ok?"  
"Gotcha."  
"Spyro, you see the green display screen in front of you? That's the radar. If you see anything on it, tell me immediately ok?"  
"Ok."

"Flame, you have the damage control back there. If we get into a fight, you need to keep an eye on our damage. Both of you see that yellow and black striped handle under your seat? Don't pull that unless I tell you to, ok?"  
"Ok" they answered in unison  
Austin started up the engines and began to slowly taxi out to the runway  
"Rebel tower, this is Darkstar one niner five requesting clearance for takeoff."  
"Darkstar one niner five, this is Rebel tower you are clear for takeoff, good hunting."  
Austin took the jet to the end of the runway and stopped.  
"Are you guys ready?"  
they nodded  
"I suggest you hang on to something."  
Spyro strapped himself in, and Austin waited to hear Flames safety harness click into place.  
But instead, he heard a large boom, followed by the sound of rockets firing off.  
"AAHHHH!!!" Flame yelled  
Spyro tapped Austin on the shoulder.  
"Um…Austin…"  
"He pulled the ejection seat handle didn't he?"  
"Yes. Yes he did."  
Austin hit his helmet against what was left of the cockpit glass, and couldn't help but laugh as he watched Flame float down to the ground on his parachute and onto the runway in front of the aircraft.  
"The one lever I tell him not to pull, and it is the first one he reaches for…hehe I have some hilarious friends…" he smiled as he climbed out of the jet, followed by Spyro.  
Austin walked up to Flame, who was just sitting on the runway, with the parachute covering his head.  
"Flame…" Austin said  
"Don't say it."  
"Don't say what? Oh, you mean don't bring up the fact that you have an uncanny ability to pull the one lever out of all of them that would throw you out of the aircraft?" Spyro started laughing behind him.  
"I'm just kidding Flame, c'mon, lets get this thing fixed so we can get out of here."

After a few hours, the jet was back in working order, and they climbed back in, went through the safety checks and found themselves back at the end of the runway.  
"Ok, Spyro are you strapped in?"  
"Yeah, I'm good."  
"Flame, are you ready?"  
"Yes, I'm strapped in."  
"Ok…here we go!"  
Austin pushed the throttle forward as far as it would go.  
The G forces were like nothing Spyro or Flame had ever felt  
Austin began reading off their speed.  
200...250…300…350…400…450…500…  
Austin pulled back on the controls, and they were off, higher than either Spyro or Flame had ever flown before.  
The aircraft began to vibrate and shake.  
"whats going on?" Spyro asked  
"We're breaking the sound barrier, hang on, it's going to get rough!"  
The airplane was on the verge of losing control, but then finally, the sonic boom signaled the breaking of the sound barrier. Austin turned on the G force suppressor, which allowed Flame and Spyro, who weren't used to going, that fast, breath easier.  
A few hours passed as they flew over the Atlantic, and passed over Europe.  
"What is that down there?" they asked seeing the lights of a city in the darkness.  
"Hmm…according to the GPS…that would be Paris, the capital of France. They are responsible for liberating Europe from black September."  
They flew on until they were over the eastern block of the evil empire.  
Flame and Spyro were both asleep as they entered restricted airspace.  
At first all seemed well, and then an alarm went off on Spyro's radar screen.  
"Huh…what is that noise?"  
"It's your radar Spyro! What's it say?" Austin said flipping switches and turning knobs.  
"Its says…missile lock…incoming. What does that mean?"  
"It means grab something stable!" Austin deployed flares to distract the missile and he rolled the jet and flipped it over, doing various acrobatic maneuvers to try and lose it.  
Luckily, the missile hit a flare, and exploded.  
"Whew…that was close…damn ground based missiles…we need to get higher. Turn on your oxygen."  
they climbed for a good ten minutes before the radar began to beep again.  
"Oh Jesus what now?!" Austin said over the radio  
"umm...we've got company! Two dots…the radar says…MIG 21"  
"perfect… wake up flame, this is going to take all of us to win!" 

**Dogfight! hope no one gets sick, cuz there will be flips, twists and turns! **


	3. Chapter 3 A Rough Landing

CHAPTER-2 A ROUGH LANDING

The two Migs were closing fast and they both had locks on their aircraft.

"hang on back there!" Austin said as he armed the missiles and readied the guns.

He pulled up on the controls and cut the engines, allowing the enemy aircraft to speed past them.

Austin jammed the controls and the throttle forward and was now on their tails.

"Austin we've got a lock!" Spyro said

"Awesome, fox one!" the missile launched and they followed it until it impacted the engine of the first fighter.

"Woohoo! Take that!" Flame cheered

"where'd the other one go?" Austin asked

"straight ahead!" Spyro yelled

Austin turned his head and saw that the second fighter was indeed at twelve o'clock level.

"Crap! This is going to get messy!" Austin held down the trigger on the joystick and machine gun made a buzz saw like noise as it threw lead into the enemy engines, causing it to explode.

Austin had no other action but to fly straight through the debris field of the explosion.

He closed his eyes and pushed the throttle forward.

Among the terrible screeches of metal on metal, they came out in one piece.

"Nice! We're still alive! How are you guys doing back there?"

"Um Austin…it says we're losing…hydraulic fluid and…fuel. On a scale of one to ten, how bad is that?" Flame asked

"that's a twelve! Hang on; we're crash landing in the jungle!" Austin said as he nearly broke his arms trying to keep the plane level.

"This isn't going to end well…pull the ejection seat handle! Bail out!" Flame and Spyro grabbed their handles and were blasted out of the aircraft. Austin pulled his, and instead of being shot to safety, he opened his eyes to find he was still in the aircraft.

"Negative! Rocket ignition failure? My ass!" Austin pulled out Julia and wedged her between the seat and the floor, and pulled the trigger, igniting the rockets.

"That's more like it!" he was hurled out of the aircraft and looked back to see if Spyro and Flame were ok.

Spyro watched the jet they were in only moments before plow into the ground going 200 miles an hour.

They floated down to the ground into the dense jungle and regrouped in a clearing.

"Ok…so what did you guys manage to get off the plane before you punched out?" Austin asked.

"Nothing but myself." Spyro said and Flame nodded in agreement.

"Well…that's great…all our supplies were in the plane that just slammed into the dirt…well, I managed to get a map into my cargo pocket before I got out…"

"let me see it! I have a great sense of direction." Spyro said enthusiastically.

Spyro unfolded it and Austin read him their coordinates.

"Ok…according to this…we are as far away from anything as we could possibly be."

"Great…" Austin said sarcastically as he cut a path through the woods.

They trekked for an hour until they came to a clearing with rice marshes stretched as far as the eye could see.

There was a village in the distance.

"Spyro what is the name of this village?" Austin asked

"Umm…its called…xa…xang…whu?"

"xang whu?"

"I guess…I don't speak Chinese!"

"Right, lets see if they have a store or something we can re-supply at."

They walked through the rice fields until they can to the town square. It was deserted…but it had seemed like it was populated only minutes before.

"Where'd everybody go?" Flame asked walking around and looking at the various tools left scattered throughout the center of town.

"That's weird…I'm reading life forms…but I don't see any…lets try the thermal imaging…oh yeah…people are here…they're just hiding."

Austin shouted something in Chinese and still, no one moved.

"what did you say?" Spyro asked

"I told them we weren't black September…but they still seem afraid…it's probably you guys."

"And whats that supposed to mean?" Flame asked annoyed

"Dragons are a myth here, remember?"

At that moment, the entire village came out of their huts and encircled the trio.

"What…are…they…doing? Flame asked quiet enough to make sure they didn't hear him.

"I don't think they understand English Flame…you don't have to whisper."

"Really? So I can say whatever I want?"

"That was a mistake, Austin." Spyro said as the villagers got closer and the three were shoulder to shoulder in a triangle, causing Austin to slowly reach for his gun from his holster.

"Humans suck! Dragons rule! Avocado! Unicycle! Wow they really cant understand a word I said!" Flame said chuckling

the villagers were really close now, and Austin was about to draw Julia to do some house cleaning when they all dropped to their knees and put their heads to the dirt.  
Austin put his gun away and said

"Hmm…this is new…is everyone in china this nice?"

"And you said it was us." Spyro said smiling.

One elderly man didn't bow…he walked forward and approached them.

He wore a long black robe and had a long white beard.

"Ah…so these are the three of which the holy one spoke." The old man, who was apparently the village leader, said.

"What do you know of the prophecy? And why are these people bowing? We are not conquerors, we are liberators."

"Dragons are sacred in our culture…the holy one has lived for hundreds of years…he can see far into the future, and spoke of the day when two sacred beings, and their winged guardian would arrive to rid this world of evil."

"You hear that Spyro? We're sacred." Flame said waving his arm over his still bowing 'subjects'."Yeah I did buddy. "Spyro said attempting to fold the map back up.

Austin stepped over the bowed villagers and faced the old man.

"So what should we call you?"

"you may call me Pai Mei. Come…we can re-supply you for your journey to Beijing."

"how did you know we where going to Beijing?"

"The holy one has revealed it to me."

"Right…c'mon guys…Flame! Stop manipulating the villagers!"

"Right sorry!" they stocked up on food and ammunition, and then ate a huge feast the villagers put on in honor of their arrival.

They slept well that night in Pai Mei's hut, only to awaken to the voices of frightened villagers the next morning.

As they were getting up, a man ran into the hut and said something to Pai Mei in Chinese so fast, Austin couldn't translate.

"Whats wrong?" Austin asked

"A black September search party. They must have seen your plane go down…now they will tear the village apart looking for you." Pai Mei said with worry in his voice.

"No they won't. I've got an idea, get us three robes, three hats, and three scythes, quickly! And tell everyone else to hide."

20 MINUTES LATER

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Flame asked skeptically

"Yes I'm sure! Now make sure your tail doesn't stick out under that robe!"

The squad of three black September elite commandos walked through the village square, and approached three villagers in robes and hats, working in the fields.

"Have you seen any strange looking creatures in the past few days around here?" the first soldier asked. They just kept their backs turned to them and kept working.

Spyro looked at Austin, Austin looked at Flame, and Flame shot a nervous glance back.

"Hey! Answer me when I'm talking to you peasant scum!" the soldier grabbed Austin's shoulder and poked his gun barrel in his side.

"You know…come to think of it…" Austin slowly and quietly deploys his arm blade.

"I did see a guy and two dragons…I'm pretty sure they went THAT WAY!" Austin said as he stabbed the first soldier through the chest and lifted him off the ground.

Spyro and Flame used their scythes to cut the other two clean in half at the waist.

Austin looked into the soldier's visor. There was a small camera on it.

"I know you can see me Crozier. I'm coming for you. And I won't stop until I am eating my cereal out of your skull. Got it? Good." He drew Julia from her holster, and put a bullet  
through the soldiers head, causing the camera screen to go blank.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
General Crozier saw it all…and for once, someone who thought of himself as immortal, felt a very human chill run up his spine. 

**there is chap 2! what did you think? tell me, review style!**


	4. Chapter 4 The Holy One

CHAPTER 3 THE HOLY ONE

The villagers piled the dead soldiers up and lit their remains ablaze.

After disposing of the intruders, Pai Mei asked them to meet him in his hut.

"Austin, Spyro, Flame…it has been an honor to have the three holy warriors in our village, but now that you are re-supplied, there is no longer a reason for you to stay, except for one. The holy one has wished to see you. It is an honor bestowed on only the truly worthy."

"Really? Then what are we waiting for? Take us to this 'holy one' guy." Austin said

Pai Mei led them out of the village and to the bottom of a stone cliff.

"Is this it?" Flame asked looking at the blank rock face.

"Yes. Wait a moment while I open the gateway."

Pai Mei chanted something in mandarin and the large stone slab slowly retracted, revealing a long twisting cave that they were then walking in until they came to a chamber with a green, wingless, snake-like dragon. Its body wrapped around the room several times and it was apparently meditating when they entered.

"Holy one, these are the three you predicted would arrive."

"Ah yes, Spyro, Flame and Austin. It was fate that brought you into my village, and it is destiny that will determine weather or not your prophecy will be fulfilled."

"Yes, with Spyro and Flame by my side, nothing will stop us from freeing you from black September's tyranny."

"Yes, the three of you certainly have the combined power to destroy the evil threatening this land, but you will certainly fail if you try to use your firearm in every situation, which is why I feel you need this."

A sword descended from the ceiling and stuck into the ground in front of Austin.

"This is the sword of the dragon. It was forged in the hottest volcano in the land, and is made of the finest steel, with the sharpest blade in the entire world. There is only one other sword like it, yours is the blade of ice, the other is the blade of fire, and is possessed by a great warrior of legend. It was hidden here by warrior monks of the Shao Lin temple, and was entrusted to my guardianship. I was told to give it only to someone who was truly worthy to wield it. And I feel that the person truly worthy, is you."

"Thank you holy one…but I have one question, why didn't you leave with the rest of the dragons?" Austin asked

A few of us stayed behind with the humans who treated us like gods. Once the artisan dragons left, the zodiac dragons like me stayed in villages, keeping the peasants safe from invading armies, bandits and the like."

Austin pulled the sword from the ground and swung it around to get a feel for it.

"The balance is perfect…this sword is amazing."

"Yes, you will find it quite useful in the road that lies ahead of you all."

"Thank you holy one, we will not fail."

"As long as you have faith in each other, and make as many allies as possible, you will surpass my expectations."

They bowed, and left the huge dragon and stepped back into the outside world to find the village burning.

"What the hell happened here?" Flame asked covering his nose from the smell of burning flesh.

"oh…my heart…" Pai Mei clutched his chest as he fell to the ground.

"Are you ok?! Whats wrong Pai Mei?" Austin asked checking him over.

SUBJECT- PAI MEI

CONDITION- CRITICAL

INJURIES- HEART FAILURE

TREATMENT- NONE

"Take this…and avenge…my people…" Pai Mei said with his final breaths, and gave Austin a small piece of paper.

"Don't worry…we will." Spyro said as Austin motioned for them to set his body on fire, as they didn't have time to bury him.

They walked back toward the burning village to find that black September had spared no one.

"Looks like they found out we were here." Austin said sadly

"How did they get here and do this so fast? We were in there for 5 minutes!" Flame said

"This wasn't the work of ground troops…this was the air force. Helicopters, more than likely." Austin explained

"What do we do now?" Spyro asked

"I guess we can search for anything we can salvage, but short of that, we should probably get out of here before wave two comes along."

They didn't find much they could use, so they put the burning village to their backs and marched onward, into the jungle.

Spyro was in the middle with the map, Austin was up front, and Flame was bringing up the rear.

"I have a bad feeling about this place…" Flame said worried

"Just make sure you watch your back, because tigers like to attack from behind." Austin said

"What?!"

"Just be careful."

They trekked for a few hours into the jungle until Austin finally asked

"So where are we exactly?"  
"Um…according to the map, we are close to an ancient Buddhist temple, but we need to be careful because there is quicksand ahead-"they all stopped as they simultaneously heard a squishing noise.

Austin turned to Spyro as the three of then sank in the quicksand slowly.

"Quicksand. Would that be THIS quicksand?"

"Umm…" Spyro rechecks the map. "Yes."

"Flame, your turn to read the map."

Spyro passed Flame the map embarrassed.

"Ok guys on three, fly out. One, two, three!" they flapped vigorously until they freed themselves from what could have been a deadly trap.

They walked into the ancient stone courtyard and up the hundreds of stone steps and past the old entrance. They were the first beings to enter this temple in hundreds of years.

"According to this piece of paper Pai Mei gave me, there is a warrior sealed somewhere in this temple that is vital to our victory, and we need to awaken him." Austin said as they made footprints in the dust toward a large statue of a multi armed god, all six arms carrying swords.

"Hm…if I was a warrior, I'd want to be sealed in here." Flame said as they entered a room filled with weapons and a large crystal in the center of the room. And someone was inside the crystal.

Spyro walked up to the words carved on the base of the crystal.

"Hmm…all it says is Draganta the Dragonlord. Think this is our guy?" he asked

"I don't know, but there's only one way to find out." Flame answered

"Yeah, but lets take this a step at a time. How are we going to get him out of there?" 

**Thanks to DtD for use of his oc, i dont own anything but austin and the storyline. peace**


	5. Chapter 5 A New Ally

CHAPTER 4- A NEW ALLY

Austin looked over the paper Pai Mei gave him, and found some writing in Chinese on the back.

"Hmm…maybe if I say this…"

Austin read the words aloud, but nothing happened.

"Maybe we all have to say it in unison." Spyro suggested

They crowded around Austin and he translated it for them.

"Ok, on three. One…two…three…"

No sooner had they read the words aloud, the crystal had begun to glow and crack in various places.

"Find cover!" Austin shouted diving behind a boulder and drawing Julia from her holster.

With a loud bang, the crystal shattered into a thousand pieces, the shards stabbing the wall with immense force.

Draganta fell from his suspended state and onto the stone floor, but picking himself up quickly, hoping no one saw his brief misstep.

He looked around and noticed two dragons and a human hiding in his room, peering out from behind rocks.

"Who are you?"

He asked slowly reaching for the hilt of his sword on his back.

"Easy slick, we just freed you from your crystal prison, thing." Austin said standing from behind the rock, Julia still trained on Draganta.

"So you are the three holy ones eh?" he said no longer reaching for his sword.

Austin lowered his weapon

"How does everyone know that?" Spyro asked

"We just do. Don't worry about how." Draganta said

They came out from behind there cover and approached their new ally.

"So…how did you get stuck in there?" Flame asked

"I am the protector of this region, and whenever evil threatens, I am awaken."

"A little late for that isn't it? Black September has already taken over." Spyro said

"We saw a few dead monks on the way in, I think they were going to release you, but black September got to them first." Austin told him.

"Who is this black September?" the dragon asked

"It's a long story. Just trust me when I say that they are bad." Flame answered.

"Ok…oh…nice sword, that looks like the…no way, that's the Ice Dragon sword?!" Draganta said surprised.

"Where did you get that?"

"We went to a village to stock up on supplies and the elder of the village took us to a huge, green, wingless dragon, who said that I was worthy to wield it. He said you would have the other one. That's the sword of fire right?"

"Yes it is, now if you don't mind, I want to see if you are truly worthy to carry that holy blade." Draganta said drawing his sword for some friendly competition.

"Fair enough. But I warn you, I'm no schoolboy in swordsmanship."

"Nor am I."

They struck a resounding first clash as blue and red flashes shot from their swords every time they met.

They fought for at least twenty minutes before coming to the conclusion that this battle was a stalemate.

"You are good on the ground, but how are you in the air?" Draganta spread his wings and took to the air.

"Oh I forgot, humans can't fly." Draganta said slightly smiling

"I'm not human!" Austin's wing formed up and took him skyward.

They dueled for a few good minutes until Draganta finally thought that Austin was worthy of carrying the other sacred blade.

"Ok…you are…good with…that sword…you…are…worthy to wield…it" Draganta said catching his breath.

"Thanks…you aren't…so bad…yourself…" Austin said as he did the same.

The four of them left the temple and passed the skeletons of slain monks, which made Draganta stop.

"These were peaceful monks! The guardians of this temple, and it has been defiled…they will pay for this. I swear."

Draganta cut his claw and bled a little onto the skeleton of one of the monks.

"My pact is complete. Why do you show no emotion for this slaughter?" he asked Austin

"I've seen it all before. It doesn't even faze me anymore." Austin answered somberly

"C'mon, we need to make it to Kang Xui before nightfall. Flame, how far away is that?" Austin asked

"Um…that's about 200 miles from here, through thick jungles and a mountain range."

"Great…well, walking is out of the question. Draganta, are those wings good for speed?" Austin asked

"You bet they are."

"Then what the hell are we still here for?"

They took off into the east, with the setting sun to their backs. They flew low to the jungle treetops to avoid black September's radar.

When they finally arrived in the huge city of Kang Xui just as night descended upon the eastern hemisphere.

They land in a dark alley behind the largest hotel in the city.

"Ok…how am I gonna get you guys past the front desk? Hmm…" Austin said to himself

"Hey…do you guys hear that?" Spyro asked

"Ah yes, it's the festival of the dragon parade, and looks like it just started…I remember the first time they started this tradition…back in the chang dynasty…" Draganta reminisced

"Just how old are you?" Flame asked

"The gods blessed me with immunity to the ravages of time."

"So you can't die?" Austin asked

"No, I can still die, just not of natural causes."

Then it hit Austin as to how they could sneak into the hotel with three dragons and not arouse suspicion.

"I got it! Guys, we need one of those long dragon costumes, and a prayer!"

they hid in an alley at the end of the parade route. Four men in a dragon costume passed and as they did, the four grabbed them and pulled them into the alley, where Draganta tied all of them up.

"Nice work Draganta, now, let's figure this thing out."

Austin was in front, Draganta was behind him, followed by Spyro, and then Flame.

They wandered back down the street.

"Ow! Austin will you watch where you're going!" Flame snapped

"Sorry, but I can't see a damn thing! How did those guys do this?"

They stumbled around until they found the hotel.

The dragon costume took up the entire length of the lobby.

"Ok guys, just be cool, and let me do the talking."

Austin opened the front of the costume and addresses the man behind the marble desk.

"Checking in sir?" he asked dryly

"Yes I am, I need a room. The biggest you have."

"Sir I doubt you could afford that." He said just as dry.

"Really? Will this cover it?" Austin dropped a stack of hundred dollar bills onto the desk, and the manager's attitude seemed to change instantly.

"Ah yes, an American! Right this way sir."

"Ok guys, let's go. And for the love of god keep this costume on until we get to the room."

"Got it."

"Right."

"Ok."

They couldn't fit in the elevator, so they had to take the winding stairs, and their room was on the 25th floor.

They finally got to their floor and a maid was vacuuming and as fate would have it, Spyro tripped over the cord, taking Draganta with him, and tearing the paper costume open, exposing their true form.

"God Damnit… so close…" Austin said under his breath

"Hey…wait a minute…" the manager said

Austin's slid his blade out of his arm slowly

"Where did you guys get those costumes?! They look so real!"

Austin breathed a sigh of relief as he put his weapon away.

"Um…we made them ourselves…it took a really long time." Draganta said, thinking quickly

"Yes it took them a really long time, which is why we must get some sleep." Austin said hustling his friends into their huge room.

"Just call the front desk if you need anything! It's on the house!" the manager called as Austin closed the door.

"Whoa! This room is huge!" Spyro said as he looked over every lavish detail.

"If you give the right people the right amount of money, anything is possible."

"What do we do now?" Draganta asked, being new to the twenty first century.

"Didn't you hear the guy? He said anything we need is on the house."

"Which means?"

"Which means tonight…we party like rock stars."

**There ya go! sorry it took a while, but college takes lots of free time.**


	6. Chapter 6 On The Road Again

CHAPTER-5 ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Austin woke with a start and looked around the spotless hotel room, feeling his pounding headache, and wading through the empty bottles around the bed.

"What the hell? Did I just imagine a party?" he said to himself as he opened the door from his room and found that Flame, Draganta and Spyro had trashed the rest of the room, as well as themselves.

Flame was passed out halfway on and halfway off the couch, with a lampshade over his head.

Draganta was standing in the kitchen with a cup of hot, black coffee, holding his head, with his eyes half open.

"Some party last night Austin."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Nope."

"Then that makes two of us… let me get some of that joe."

Spyro had fared better than all of them, having actually made it to a couch and managed to stay on it for the duration of the night.

"Are Spyro and Flame still alive?" Austin joked

"Only one way to find out." Draganta said

Draganta filled a cup up with cold water and Austin did the same.

Draganta splashed Flame and Austin splashed Spyro with the icy liquid.

They awoke quickly.

"What the f-"Flame yelled, but stopped himself realizing it was just Draganta

"What the hell was that for?!" Flame snapped

"For not getting up when we tried to wake you up the first time." Draganta laughed

Spyro yelled just like Flame did and soon everyone was fully awake.

"You guys chill here and I'm gonna see if we can get some breakfast…" Austin said as he opened the door and walked down the hallway. He turned a corner and saw the hotel manager, a squad of special operation black September soldiers, and the four guys they stole the dragon costume from.

"Dammit! I knew I should have killed them!" Austin said as he ran back to the room and slammed the door behind him.

"Austin, whats wrong with you?" Spyro asked

"Black September…knows…we're…here…"

"What?! How?" Draganta said

"Those guys…we stole the…costume from…ratted us out…" Austin said catching his breath.

"I knew I should have killed them!" Draganta said

"I know!" Austin answered as he started grabbing everything of value from the room and stuffing it in his cargo shorts.

"What are you doing?" Spyro asked

"Grab anything that looks expensive! We'll need to pawn this stuff for cash later."

"Stealing?! I've never stolen anything in my life!" Spyro said proudly

"Maybe not in avalar, but here, without cash, you're done. Now if there are no further questions, STEAL FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!"

They grabbed what they could just as they heard pounding on the door.

"Open up prophet! We know you're in there!"

"Lets get out of here!" Flame said as Austin threw a chair out of the 25th floor window.

"What? We must stand and fight!" Draganta said drawing his sword

"No we must not! They will call reinforcements and then we will have the entire army of the sun up our ass!" Austin explained

"I can take them! I've defeated hundreds of evil hordes in the past!"

"They had ancient weapons, these guys have guns! Draganta you have to come on!" Austin said as Flame and Spyro jumped out the window and glided to the ground.

"Grrr…fine…" Draganta put his sword away begrudgingly and flew out of the window just as the bullets ripped through the door.

They regrouped in the alley and counted their funds.

"Okay…I'm going to go find a pawn shop; you guys stay in this shed, and keep a low profile. Flame, no touching, messing with, or molesting any objects unless you know what it is. And even then, don't touch it!"

He turned to Spyro.

"Spyro, keep an eye on Flame. And Draganta, no killing please."

"Ugh…first you don't let me kill those guys in the alley, then the guys in the hotel, and now this? What kind of warrior are you?" Draganta asked

"Don't worry; you'll get plenty of chances to kill, trust me. Now all you guys, stay in this old shed until I get back ok?"

"Oookkk…"they said in dreary unison

(A/N: we skip ahead to when Austin has gotten the money and was walking back down the street toward the shed where he left his three friends.)

Austin returned to find the shed, and the three buildings surrounding it engulfed in flames.

"Oh my Christ…this has Draganta's fingerprints all over it…" he said looking around for spyro, flame or Draganta.

He found them standing in the middle of the street staring up at the flaming structures.

"Wow…Draganta…you are in sooooooo much trouble! Flame said not breaking his gaze at the towering flames."Draganta! What the hell? Keeping a low profile doesn't usually involve setting fire to buildings!" Austin yelled over the roar of the flames and wail of approaching fire engines.

"Black September found us! I had to take them out somehow!"

"How many came?"

"about twenty or so."

"Kill all of them?"

"Duh."

"Good man…er…dragon. Let's get out of this down before we destroy it!" Austin said taking to the air, followed by Draganta, Spyro and Flame.

They flew until the sun set and they made camp in the jungle.

"This looks like a good spot for tonight, tigers don't frequent this part of the jungle." Draganta said

"Cool, helicopters are patrolling the woods for us, so don't light any fires, or make our encampment visible in any way." Austin said getting into his sleeping bag.

They all slept soundly that night, not knowing the long, harsh road they lay ahead for all of them. 

**There is ch 5! i dont own draganta or any origional spyro characters, only Austin, and the storyline.**


	7. Chapter 7 Beijing Sunrise

CHAPTER 6- BEIJING SUNRISE

Beams of sunlight shone through the gaps in the jungle canopy, and somehow, right into Draganta's eyes. 

"Ugh…too early for this!" Draganta rolled back over to get away from the light. 

He saw that the rest of them were still asleep, so he decided it was still ok to try and catch a few more z's. 

But he found sleep hard to come by. So he got up, and decided to take a stroll through the jungle. As he was walking, he came across a Bengal tiger. However, Draganta was not afraid. 

"Easy girl, I'm not here to hurt you." 

The tiger began to growl at Draganta, causing him to draw his sword as a precaution. 

'Why is she so aggressive?' he thought to himself as she circled him, carefully sniffing the air around him. 

As she circled, the reason for her aggressiveness was obvious. Two tiger cubs sat in a clearing, wrestling, and chasing each other. 

"Oh…you're just worried about your cubs aren't you?" 

Draganta tapped the ground a few times in different spots, and the tiger stopped growling, and walked over to him. 

He gave the tiger cubs some food and kept walking deeper into the jungle. Although it didn't look like he knew where he was going, he did. He found a ruined temple, that he recognized as the place where his battle armor was stored. Hopefully it was still there, and not in some collectors display or museum. 

He walked through the destroyed hallways of the temple, bringing back memories of the last time he walked these halls, hundreds of years ago. 

He tried to remember where his armor storage room was. He found it, but it was empty except for a few rusted pieces of metal on the floor. 

"Wow…damn treasure hunters…" he said to himself walking to the back of the room. There was a design carved on the back of the wall. Draganta traced his sword along the imprint, and the wall turned 180 degrees to reveal a set of shiny armor. 

"Glad they didn't get their greedy hands on these." He said putting it on, it fit like a glove.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Flame awoke early as well, he realized Draganta was gone, but didn't want to worry the others, so he went into the jungle around their campsite to see if he could find something to eat. 

"Oh man I'm starving…I could eat an…ele…phant." Flame stopped dead in his tracks as he was face to face with an adult, male elephant. 

The elephant reared back on its hind legs and roared, then stomped on the ground in front of him.  
"Hm…is that a challenge?" Flame said barring his teeth and readying his fire breath.  
Flame fought the elephant for about ten minutes before it finally went down.  
Thirty minutes later, he stopped eating. 

"Wow…guess I couldn't actually eat an elephant…" he said, almost too full to move.  
He stood up and stretched. 

"That elephant made me tired again…" he yawned, then a gunshot was heard through the jungle. 

Flame felt the back of his neck, and pulled a syringe out of it. 

"or maybe it was…this…thing…" his vision blurred as he lost balance, he saw figures in black moving towards him, then the tranquilizers took full effect, and he blacked out. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Spyro awoke to find Draganta missing. 

"Austin, wake up! Draganta's gone." 

"Wha…what? I'll kill general crozier later, just five more minutes…" Austin said barely awake 

"Ugh…get up!" Spyro grabbed Julia off of the stump Austin put it on and fired it into the air. 

Austin rolled out of his sleeping bag and put his knife to Spyro's neck. 

"Oh…it's just you Spyro. Sorry, that's kind of my reflex to gunfire." Austin said putting his knife away and holstered Julia. 

"Hey…where's Flame?" Flame was gone, but he wasn't with Draganta. 

Draganta came back into camp in his armor. 

"Sick armor bro, where'd you get that?" Austin asked 

"An old temple of mine. Where's Flame?" 

"We thought he was with you." Spyro said 

"Well…let's go find him." Austin groaned 

They called Flames name s they fanned out into the jungle around them, with the headset radio's Austin gave them. 

Spyro came across Flames dead elephant and called the others over. 

"Guys, his footprints end here." He said 

Draganta looked down and picked up the syringe off the ground. 

"What the hell is this?" 

He handed it to Austin and he analyzed it. 

He noticed the black S on it. 

"Flames been captured. This is a tranq. Dart. Looks like evacuated him by helicopter, because the drag marks end over there." 

"So we are on a rescue mission are we?" Draganta asked 

"That we are. You wanted a chance to kill? You're about to get it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

Flame woke up to being dragged by his hind legs through a hallway on a particularly rough floor. The people who were dragging him were still blurs, but he was conscious enough to speak…kind of. 

"Where a hell is you's takin me?" Flame slurred  
the guard looked back.  
"He's awake."  
"Well fix it." The other guard said, handing him his nightstick.  
Flame saw the hit coming in slow motion, but could do nothing to stop it. He was out cold again."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Where did they take him?" Spyro asked worried. 

"No telling…but its more than likely site 21, the most notorious secret prison in all of Asia. Its near Beijing, so we need to get a move on if there is any hope of saving Flame before it's too late." Austin said spreading his wings. 

They took off and set a course for the sunrise until they came upon the massive capitol of the former people's republic of china. 

"Ok, we need to find a place to stay the night. Now, it's not going to be as nice as our last place of residence, but with our limited funds, it should be ok for the three of us." 

They checked into a hotel and used the 'these are two guys in a costume' excuse to explain Spyro and Draganta. 

"Wow, why does everyone here accept that on face value?" spyro asked 

"No idea, but I'm glad they do, or this trip would be a lot harder." Austin said as he got to their room. 

"Ok, so whats the plan on rescuing Flame?" asked Draganta  
"Well, first we need to find out where he is being held. My money is on site 21, but we need to know for sure, so the three of us need to hit the most popular social gathering spot in the city. Club sky-lounge." 

"Luckily for us, there is a costume party tonight, so you guys can go as yourselves, and I'll need to find some kind of disguise…" 

Austin looked into the closet and found a silk robe, a pipe, and a monocle. 

"Ok, I will go as 'Sir Graham Wellington the IV'. 

They waited until well after dark to go out. They called a cab and went to the tallest building in the city on the top floor. 

They were stopped at the door for I.D.'s. 

"I'm gonna need some identification or you aren't getting in." the huge bouncer said sternly. 

Having no I.D.'s to speak of, Austin went to plan B. 

"Tell you what chief, me and my friends don't have I.D.'s, but Mr. Franklin, says we're of age." 

The bouncer caught his drift, and they got in. 

"Ok guys, try to find out what you can, but don't be too obvious. Grab some drinks, but don't go overboard." Austin briefed. 

They dispersed into the crowd and found out what they could. 

After numerous compliments on Spyro's and Draganta's 'costumes' the club began to shut down. 

They regrouped by the bar. 

"So Austin, what did you find out?" Spyro asked 

"It is site 21…Spyro…hold my drink" Austin said falling to the floor. He was smashed.  
After Draganta and Spyro stopped laughing, the carried him out of the bar, and back to the hotel.  
"You's guy's…are my…bests friendsss…I'm being…being serious…if anybody…hiccup messes with you…I'll…kill them!! Haha…" Austin slurred as they put him on the couch. 

"And he told us not to get wasted. Hehe." Draganta chuckled as he and Spyro got into their beds for the night. 


	8. Chapter 8 A Day To Remember

CHAPTER-7 A DAY TO REMEMBER

Austin woke up on the couch of their room. He found Spyro still asleep but Draganta wide awake on the balcony, practicing his sword technique.

Draganta came inside when he noticed Austin was awake.

"Sleep well?" he asked holding back laughter.

"Fine thanks…is Spyro still asleep?"

"Yes, he is not exactly an early riser, nor is he easy to wake up." Draganta added

"Hmm…I've good an idea, follow me." Austin said smirking the way he did when he either had a brilliant idea, or a bad one.

They left the room and closed the door, standing out in the hallway.

"If you don't mind my asking, how are we supposed to wake him up from out here?"

"Watch, and learn."

Austin adjusted his voice so it sounded like that of an elderly Chinese maid.

"Housekeeping!" he said knocking loudly on the door.

The two of them heard Spyro stirring from outside.

Draganta began to laugh but Austin signaled to hold it in.

"Housekeeping!" he said again, knocking louder this time.

"No…housekeeping…" Spyro said from behind the door, obviously drowsy.

Draganta was about to lose it now, barely containing himself.

"Housekeeping! You want new pillow?" Austin repeated the pounding at the door.

"NO!" Spyro groaned from somewhere inside the room

"Housekeeping! You want fresh towel?"

"No I don't want a towel I just want TO SLEEP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Spyro yelled, now obviously awake.

By this point, Draganta was on the floor laughing and Austin was enjoying this as well.

he waited for about 5 seconds

"Ok, here is the big finish!" Austin whispered to Draganta, who was wiping tears from his eyes

"Housekeeping! You want me love you long time?"

after that, they heard footsteps coming toward the door

"What kind of hotel is this- oh, it's just you guys." Spyro snapped aggravated that he had been awakened prematurely.

"Morning sunshine, we have to get a move on if we are gonna rescue Flame." Austin said helping Draganta up off the ground.

They left their hotel and set off to where Austin believed site 21 was located.

"Ok boys, that was more than likely the last time we will be staying in a hotel."

"Why is that?" Spyro asked slightly disappointed

"Because we have no more money, now if I'm not mistaken, there should be a-"

Austin was cut off as Draganta grabbed his arm and prevented him from taking his next step, which would have been on a land mine.

"Draganta, good save, I owe ya one. Anyway according to this map, this minefield is…huge. I suggest we fly."

They agreed and took to the air. Upon clearing the minefield, they hid in the bushes behind a small garrison of black September soldiers. It was obviously some kind of checkpoint.

"Ok, so what is the plan?" spyro asked Austin

"Well…we could always go in with guns blazing...or we could silence old Julia here, and go for a more stealthy approach, or-"

"Or you could leave this to me." Draganta said standing up and walking straight towards the armed soldiers.

"Or Draganta could do something crazy." Spyro completed.

He walked toward the soldiers, and they opened fire.

"Spyro, this wont be pretty!" Austin said, as he heard what he thought was the sound of bullets ripping through Draganta's armor.

Soon, the soldiers had to reload, and the firing stopped. Austin and Spyro peeked out from their cover and were amazed to find Draganta just standing there, unscathed.

"What the hell?" Austin said to himself as Draganta gathered a small ball of fire in his right hand, which he then slammed into the ground, sending an expanding dome of fire

outwards, burning everything it touched.

All that was left of the checkpoint were a few piles of ashes, and some smoldering ruins.

Draganta looked around, and was happy with the result. He heard slow clapping, and turned to see Austin smiling while doing so.

"Wow. That was cool."

Spyro was just as surprised

"Can you teach me that?" he asked

"Of course Spyro, any dragon can do it."

They walked further along until they came upon another black September checkpoint.

"Jesus tap dancing Christ these guys are thorough. Well Draganta, sit back and relax, and I'll show you how I roll." Austin said as he loaded his pistol from the bottom and cocked

it back.

He crouched into the bushes right behind an unsuspecting soldier. He pulled out his combat knife and acted fast. He cut the soldiers throat and put his hand over his mouth and

slowly lowered him to the ground. He stole the soldier's uniform and crept into the camp, acting normal. He walked into the fuel tent for a few minutes, then reappears and turns

his back to Spyro and Draganta.

"What is he doing?" Draganta asked confused, because no one had died yet.

"He's planning something." Spyro responded

Austin pulled out a detonator and kept it behind his back so that Spyro and Draganta saw it.

"Ooohhhh." They said in unison quietly.

He put on hand behind his back, and pressed the red button. A thunderous boom ripped through the fuel tent, as did a massive fireball, throwing soldiers, and parts of soldiers

hundreds of feet into the air.

Austin then ripped off the guard uniform and opened fire with Julia and his plasma gun, until the last soldier fell.

One was still breathing as he picked his head up, and looked at Austin.

"Com…commander?"

Austin quickly emptied Julia into him, as if doing it because he had said that.

Draganta and Spyro walked up behind him.

"What did that soldier tell you?"

"Nothing." Austin snapped quickly.

"Well that was pretty impressive, for someone without magic."

"Thanks, I think…guns blazing is my normal style, but I like to mix it up every now and then with some stealth and sabotage."

"Well Spyro, looks like the next checkpoint is yours." Draganta laughed.

"I already know what I'm going to do." He said as they continued down the jungle trail and came to yet another road checkpoint.

"Oh my god you've got to be kidding! How many of these are there?!" Draganta asked taking cover once again.

"There is this one, and then there is one more after this before site 21, according to the map."

"Ok Spyro you're up, show us what you got." Austin said as Spyro stood up from the bushes. Luckily, for him, this was the largest guard post they had encountered, and he

needed to warm up his fury attacks.

Spyro charged dead center into the camp and began to flame the soldiers and dodge their bullets as they fired wildly at him. He glided onto the hood of a tank and charged up for

his lightning fury attack. Yellow bolts of electricity began straying randomly from his body as he charged, then he released it, throwing the tank out from under him, and zapping

everything within a 50 ft radius of himself.

He proceeded to burn down the rest of the camp and was met by Draganta and Austin.

"That's the Spyro I remember!" Austin said

They came upon the final checkpoint and split it between the three of them, making short work of it in no time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Flame woke up in a white room, with fluorescent lighting, and a glass wall with holes in it. This appeared to be some kind of high tech cell. He tried to break the glass, but it was

just too thick. He soon gave up on that strategy and sat down, trying to think of how he got here.

He felt a presence outside his cell; he turned to find Crozier, and his lapdog serevus standing there, serevus holding a briefcase, that was handcuffed to his wrist.

"Hello Flame. Enjoying your stay?" Crozier hissed

"I've stayed in nicer places." Flame spat with disdain for his captor

"How is your arm?" he asked, ignoring his earlier response.

Flame looked at his right arm and noticed a bandage.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" he asked angrily, taking off the bandage and looking at the dual puncture wounds now on his arm.

"Now, now, you don't want an infection do you?"

"If don't tell me what you injected me with I swear I'll…

"You are in no position to be making threats. Besides, we didn't inject you with anything. We just needed a sample of your DNA."

"For what?" Flame asked cautiously.

"Him." Crozier pointed to a cage where a clone of Flame was practicing destroying targets that resembled Austin, Draganta and Spyro.

"He looks, talks, and acts just like you, except as soon as he rejoins your friends, and they let their guard down, its curtains, for them."

Serevus turned and opened the cage, releasing the clone.

"Get to the surface, and find the prophet. You know what to do after that."

"Yes sir."

**Flame clone is bad news! sorry it took forever.**


	9. Chapter 9 The New Flame

CHAPTER 8- THE NEW FLAME

"Ok guys, just past this city, is site 21." Austin said as they saw the buildings on a far hill.

"Can we get something to eat when we get there? I'm starving." Spyro said, Draganta agreeing.

"I'm pretty hungry too, and I think we're out of food anyway." Austin admitted as they came into the outskirts of the town.

They went into a diner and used the 'actors playing dragons trying to get in touch with their character by wearing costumes' excuse.

After eating, they set up their camp outside of town.

"Tonight, we rest, but we attack site 21 at dawn." Austin said reviewing his maps of the area.

"How are we gonna…" Spyro's voice trailed off as he saw something impossible walking up the hill towards their position. It was Flame!

"Flame?! How the hell?" Austin asked in amazement.

"The guards that were outside my cell fell asleep, so I grabbed their guns and forced them to let me out. After that, it was all through the vents from there." Flame said

"Wow…that's some escape! Glad to have you back with us." Draganta added.

Something about this didn't seem right to Spyro…he couldn't place it, but something about this was wrong.

"Did they do anything to you Flame?"

"Yea…they…I don't want to talk about it…" he said, the color leaving his scales at the mere thought of what the supposedly 'did' to him. A good actor indeed.

'No, Spyro this is stupid. He is Flame…how could he not be?' he thought to himself as Austin and Draganta welcomed 'Flame' back to the camp.

later on that night, when everyone was asleep, Spyro quietly crept up from bed and found the schematics of site 21 that Austin had been looking at earlier.

'Hmm…site 21 has over 300 miles of ventilation, and ¾ of the vents channel poison gas…how could he have known which ones weren't poison? And which ones led out?' he thought

This just didn't add up. He decided to wait until morning to bring it up to Austin when Flame and Draganta went looking for food.

The morning came, and Flame and Draganta left as predicted.

"Austin…don't you think it's a little weird that Flame found his way out of 300 miles of vents at site 21, when most of those vents carried poison gas?"

"Hmm…now that you mention it, that is kinda weird…well that's Flame for you, full of surprises." Austin said brushing off Spyro's concern.

"I just don't think that's Flame…but how could it not be? Flame doesn't have a twin, and its not like black September could just clone…" Spyro and Austin realized the same thing at the same time.

"Oh damn." They said in unison

"We have to get him! He's out there with Draganta right now!"

"But we have to be sure it's a clone! What is something only the real Flame would know?"

"I got it! Hand me the radio." Austin handed Spyro the radio and he reached Flame.

"Hey Flame."

"Yeah, whats up?"

"Remember that girl you are dating? Snowflake?"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"Didn't she have the prettiest green eyes?" Spyro asked

"Yeah, she sure did. Cant wait till I see her again." Flame responded

Spyro dropped the radio.

"Snows eyes are silver! We have to find him!" Spyro said urgently.

They set off in the direction Draganta and Flame were last seen, and came upon Draganta hiding behind a bush, with Flame behind him.

Flame had a pistol drawn, and was aiming for the gap in Draganta's armor between his head and neck.

"Draganta! Behind you!" Spyro shouted

he turned to see the barrel of Flames pistol in his face. No armor could protect you from a point blank bullet to the face.

Austin drew Julia out of instinct and fired before Flame could pull the trigger. The bullet went right between his eyes, dropping him against a tree a few feet behind him.

"Thanks Austin." Draganta said

"No problem. Its what I do."

They looked at the imposter Flame with disbelief.

"Wow…black September has come a long way with their cloning. It used to take years to grow a decent clone. Now its only weeks, apparently." Austin said.

That was another thing Spyro had always wondered about.

'How does Austin have all this knowledge about them? It's like he was…aw never mind. That is crazy.' Spyro thought as they went back to camp.

"Ok, we kind of missed our dawn attack date, so we'll try again tomorrow."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Sir, the clone has been eliminated." A soldier reported to Serevus.

"Dammit. Did he at least kill any of them?"

"Negative sir."

"Grrr…fine. Then we will release a special surprise I have for them…courtesy of our friends at the Umbrella corporation." He said holding up a blue vile with two twisted glass tubes inside it.

"The T-virus should work nicely against them. Get word to general Crozier that I want planes loaded up in chemical configuration. I want the city quarantined, then contaminated. I will kill the prophet if it's the last thing I do."

**Sorry this chap is kinda short, i've been busy lately and the idea river I once had has become an Idea stream...**


	10. Chapter 10 Fear The Blue Mist

CHAPTER 10- FEAR THE BLUE MIST

Austin awoke before the sunrise, waking up Draganta and spyro as well.

"Why are we up so early?" spyro asked yawning

"We have to go into town and get more supplies. I need more bullets, and we need more food, as you guys already know." Austin said over their grumbling stomachs.

"Yea lets go." Draganta said as they walked down the trail from their camp to the city market.

They came into the outdoor markets and browsed around the various stalls.

"Dragant! Dude you can get 1000 rounds for 100 bucks a box! That's madness!" Austin said buying a huge ammo can .

"Ok you got your bullets, can we buy food now?" Draganta asked

"Yea, that sounds good."they found an outdoor resturaunt and sat down, eating as much as they could.

After a while, Draganta heard a very odd noise

"You guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" spyro asked putting down his sandwich

"Its like a high pitch grinding noise…"

"A high pitch grinding noise?" Austin asked 'where have I heard that before…' he thought

Then it hit him

"TANK! GET DOWN!" Austin shouted as a black september battle tank blasted through the front of the resturaunt, pointing its main gun at them.

"Run!" Spyro said as the dashed through the city streets, where panicked people were running franticly to try and save themselves as tanks, armored personnel carriers and ground troops stormed the city, and began shooting.

The three of them took cover behind a fallen column of one of the office buildings which had been hit by a tank round.

"All this for us?" Draganta yelled over the gunfire

"It looks like it!" Austin shouted back

"And me without my armor!" he said as he shot fireballs at a troop truck, launching it into the air.

Austin fired clip after clip until the barrel of his gun was almost red hot, while Spyro used his earth shot to flip over a charging tank.

"Good shot Spyro!" Austin said handing him a grenade

"What the hell is this?"

"Just pull the pin, and thow it into that group of guys!" he said pointing to the soldiers setting up a 50 caliber machine gun.

Spyro hurled it perfectly, destroying the gun, and the soldiers building it.

Spyro then heard a noise that made his heart sink.

Helicopters.

"Austin! Its those flying things again!" Draganta shouted over the gunfire

"Get in this building now!" they rushed into the building and got cover just as four gunships fired their miniguns on their previous position.

"What do we do about those things?!" spyro asked.

"I've got an idea!" Austin said as he charged his plasma cannon as high as possible, and turned on his targeting system.

He locked onto the first chopper and fired. It struck the tail rotor and sent it into a spin, and then into a building.the second helicopter locked and fired a missile heading straight for him.

He only had time to jump out of the way enough to avoid a fatal direct hit. it blew up right next to him, throwing him across the building where Draganta and Spyro waiting.

"Well, you got one of them." Spyro said

"Ow…man that hurt…I think my plasma gun is busted…yep, no more plasma…" Austin said as his cuts healed themselves.

"Well now how do we kill those choppers?" Austin asked

"I got this." Spyro said confidently as he stepped outside.the three remaining helicopters locked on Spyro, and armed their missiles.

Spyro jumped into the air and released his lightning fury attack, electrifying the gunships, shutting down their engines, sending them crashing out of the sky.

"Impressive young one." Draganta complimented they came out of the building to get back into the firefight, when they heard an air raid siren, and all the ground troops and armor fell back, and disappeared.

"Where are they going? Do they always give up like that?" Draganta asked

"Not usually…I don't know why they would…" Austin looked up at a formation of silver gleaming bombers in the sky.

"That's why!" Spyro said as they released their payload of four bombs each.

"That's it? Just a few…" Draganta said, but was stopped as they exploded high above the city, releasing a blue mist over the buildings, that slowly descended.

"Gas! We need to find gas masks!" Austin said as he ran to the store where he bought the bullets.

"Put these on!" they hurridley donned them and began hearing a gagging chocking noise that seemed to come from everywhere, or at least, everyone without a gas mask.

Soon the noises stopped, and their was silence for a time, then the townspeople came back outside. But something was different about them…the people charged them at full speed.

Austin began firing as fast as possible and then ran in the other direction.

"What the hell is wrong with them?" Draganta asked sprinting along his friends

"Some kind of new gas! They look like zombies or something!" Austin said as he kept up the pace.

"Why cant we just fly?" Spyro asked

"They have airplanes in the area!" Austin shouted as they turned down about the 5th street in the city.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Flame could see the monitors through his plastic cell, of the cameras throughout the city.

He saw his friends running from something, but he couldn't tell what.he heard a hissing noise, then looked at the vent, and saw a yellow gas pouring into his cell. Before he could do anything, he was out cold.he woke up to a punch in the face, and tried to fight back, only to realize he was tied to a chair, with a muzzle on to keep him from breathing fire.

"Hello again Flame." he recognized that voice

"Crzr!" he said muffled by the muzzle

"Take that off him" he said. A guard removed it and he blew fire at Crozier, which he caught, and threw back into Flames chest, knocking his chair and him over.

A guard picked him up set him back to his origional spot.

"You dragons are all the same, you think you fire can solve everything?"

Crozier shot electricity at him, shocking him painfully, and leaving him smoking.

"Now Flame…I know you know what the prophets plan to get to us is…now you will need to cooperate with us, if you want to live."

"Never…I'll never tell you anything, I owe Austin my life…"

"That's most unfortunate…because I think someone wants you to tell us what we want to know." Crozier turned and opened the door, and brought a tied up Snow with bruises and cuts into the room.

"Snow! What have you done with her you bastards!"

"Flame…please tell them what they want to know…I cant take anymore of this…" she said wearily as she began to cry and fell to her knees.

Tears fell from Flames eyes, and he began to talk.

"The only thing I know is where our camp is…" he told them how to get there.

"Now please let her go…" he said sobbing, in shock that he just signed his friends death warrant.

Snow got up and began laughing.

"Snow, what the hell are you laughing about?" he said loudly

Then she disappeared before his eyes."What the…"

"She wasn't real…It was an image I projected into your mind. Thank you for finally telling us what we wanted to know. Get him out of here.

"They drug him back to his cell and tossed him in his cell.he stood up and looked at his wounds, his legs barely strong enough to hold him up.

He collapsed on the floor and passed out.he woke up a few hours later, to general Serevus in front of the monitors

"What is the phrophets status?" he asked

"They are barricaded in an old building, but they have held off all of the infected so far." The soldier at the monitors said.

"Grr…I don't have the patience for this, give silo one the launch codes, I want that city leveled."

"Yes sir."

"Oh god…I've got to warn them…but how?"he remembered the radio he had on him when he was kidnapped, he hid it under his first spike.

"Thank the gods this thing is small…" he said checking the battery life

"Only enough juice for one transmission…I hope they can hear me…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They had been pinned down in this building for the better part of an hour, with Austin still shooting the Zombies with his remaining ammo.

"Zombies…man Black September has gotten creative…" he said as shooting them in the head time after time, almost to the point where he was bored with it.

Spyro's radio was hidden close enough to his ear (do dragons have ears?) so he heard Flames warning.

"Whoa! Flame! Can you hear me? Flame!"

"Whats the matter Spyro?" Draganta asked

"I just got a radio transmission from Flame! He said to get out of the city before they destroy it!"

"Guys we have a problem!" Austin interrupted

"What?"

"I'm out of bullets!"

"Then it is sword time!" Draganta said drawing his Ice sword.

Austin drew his they stepped out onto the outside steps of the building, and the remaining population lined up outside crowding the streets.

"Oh…my…god…" Austin said viewing the horde of infected.

"Its going to be a long day…"

Draganta noticed a glimpse of silver with a smoke trail behind it.

"What is that? Another bomb?"Austin looked at it, and knew immediately what it was .

"You've got to be kidding…gentlemen, we are SCREWED."

**Whew! another chapter down. Nuclear missle on the way to level the city! what happens next? next chapter will tell you. Peace!**


	11. Chapter 11 Tough Luck

CHAPTER 11- TOUGH LUCK

The missile streaked downward at a blistering pace.

"Um…I am honestly out of ideas…it was an honor fighting along side you guys…" Austin admitted

The missile drew ever closer as the infected also sprinted toward them, thirsty for blood.

Draganta stepped between Spyro and Austin.

"Don't throw in the towel just yet Austin." He said

Draganta put two fingers on his forehead and his hand flat on the ground in front of him.

The missile was 5 seconds away from impact, and the infected were about 10 feet away at full sprint.

"Draganta do something!" Austin said as he and Spyro braced themselves for something they had no chance to survive.

"Protect!" He shouted, and a clear but strong energy shield appeared around the trio.

The infected slammed into it, then the missile exploded. A blinding flash and the rush of a nuclear shockwave and the ensuing fire storm consumed the bubble, but those inside were unaffected.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Flame watched as one by one, the monitors were knocked out by either the shockwave, or the electromagnetic pulse.

Serevus stepped inside "Well? Is the city destroyed?"

"Aye sir. There is no way anyone survived that.

"He turned to face Flame in his cell, whose face now showed no hope, thinking his friends had been killed.

"The prophet is dead, along with your other friends. Witness our ultimate victory. We couldn't have done it without you Flame." He smiled and said hatefully.

"You bastard…I will avenge them, I swear."

"You are in no position to make threats."

Serevus turned to the soldier still in the room.

"Prep him for the colossus experiment."

"Aye sir!" The soldier walked over to the control panel next to flames cell and pressed a green button.

Gas of the same color poured into his room and he blacked out instantly.

He faded in and out of consciousness, but saw blurs pushing him down a lighted hallway.

He knew he was on his back, on a stretcher or something, but the gas was still in his system, so he soon passed out once again.

He awoke in what looked like the professors lab, but he knew it wasn't, he guessed it was some kind of operating room.

He felt a gas mask get put on his face, but was too weak to do anything about it. He passed out, for the final time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The dust finally settled as the city's new form was revealed. Spyro looked out from inside the energy shield.

The few buildings that were still standing were only metal frames, and were still red hot from the radioactive firestorm that engulfed the area only minutes earlier. Fires still burned around the city and almost everything was charred black.

From where they were, Spyro could see clear across to the other end of the city. Nothing was left, but dust and debris.

Draganta withdrew his energy shield, and collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Draganta! Are you ok?" Austin said running over to him and turning him onto his back.

"That shield…took…a lot of energy…you need to…get my armor…from our campsite…so I can get my…energy back faster." He said breathing heavily

Austin scanned Draganta and his medical system displayed his information.

NAME- DRAGANTA THE DRAGONLORD

SPECIES-DRAGON

SEX- MALE

AGE-???

BLOOD TYPE-???

CONDITION- CRITICAL

DIAGNOSIS- SEVERE EXHAUSTION

ALLERGIES- NONE

RECOMMENDED ACTION- ENERGY LEVELS AND HEART RATE DANGEROUSLY LOW. BLOOD PRESSURE DROPPING.

"Draganta you aren't giving me a lot to work with!" Austin said as he injected him with a neon red liquid from a syringe he pulled from his pocket.

He threw it to the ground and put one of Dragantas arms around his shoulder.

Spyro was about to grab Dragantas other arm, but then noticed something odd about the syringe…it had a black S on it, similar to all of Black September's equipment.

"Spyro you helping me or what?" He didn't hesitate to pick up the other arm and they began to help Draganta back in the direction of their camp, walking through the nothingness that was the city they were in.

Halfway through the city, they all began to get extremely weak.

"Draganta…there is no way you're this heavy…" Austin said putting him down to rest with Spyro.

"Thanks jerk…" Draganta snapped

"I didn't mean it like that…something is making us tired…" Austin said

"Guys…I cant feel my face anymore…" Spyro said putting a claw to it, and cutting his cheek by accident, due to the numbness.

"Wait…DUH! It's the radiation! We need to get back to camp and out of this city as soon as possible!" Austin said as he spread his wings.

"I thought you said we couldn't fly!" Spyro said grabbing Draganta and spreading his own.

"We're gonna die if we stay here! And besides…they probably think they killed us when they destroyed this place.

"They flew back to their camp to find it looted, and trashed by black September forces.

"What the…how did they know where we were?" Spyro asked

"They must have gotten flame to talk!" Austin said

"No…Flame would never betray us!" Spyro contested

"Black September has some pretty harsh interrogation methods. The heat on us should be off since they think we are dead, so tomorrow we need to make it to Site 21."

"Those bastards took…my armor…" Draganta said wearily

"No they didn't! I hid all of our important items in this hole…" he said as he began digging.

He stopped when the hole was waist high, then strapped Dragantas armor on him, which almost instantly restored his health.

"Ahhh, much better!" he said as they re established their sleeping spots for the night.

"We owe you our lives Draganta. Thank you." Spyro said

"Yeah, we owe you one bro." Austin said as they sat around the burning fire.

They all went to sleep after about an hour.Spyro lay awake under the stars, unable to sleep.

He silently got up, and looked over at where Draganta was sleeping, and saw that he wasn't there.

"Draganta wondered off again?" he asked himself quietly.he looked over to Austin, and saw he was out cold.

"Nothing out of the ordinary there." He said smiling at Austin's position sprawled out on the ground.

He heard the rush of a blade through the still night air, and looked in that direction. Just as he predicted, Draganta was on a cliff overlooking the still radioactive and burning city ruins.Spyro approached him, and he stopped his swordplay.

"Cant sleep either huh?" he asked

"Nope…look at this…I was left here to protect the people of this land…and I let this happen!" he said stretching his arm out over the expanse of destruction.

"Draganta there was nothing you could do, if anything, this should be your own reason for stopping Black September." Spyro said as he stepped beside him.

Draganta just stood there thinking.

"I told you why I was awake, now why are you still up?"

"Well…I don't know…you're probably going to call me crazy for this but…I think Austin…I don't know…"

"What? Come on Spyro, out with it."

"Have you ever wondered how Austin knows so much about Black September?"

"Not really. You must know your enemy, if you are to beat him. Confucius said that. I had a long conversation with him once. He didn't talk much at first, but put some green tea in him and he'll go for hours."

"Draganta I'm being serious! Remember after you saved us? He injected you with something bright red, in a needle with a black S on it, just like the one we found when Flame was kidnapped!"

"So he helped me regain my energy faster, If he was a black September operative, I don't think he would have done that. And besides, black September is after him, if he was with them, then why would he have wanted our help in stopping them?"

Spyro was still a little concerned, but decided to shrug it off and try to get more sleep before sunrise.

Besides, if Austin wanted to hurt them, he would have had plenty of opportunities to do so. Right? Right.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Austin found himself standing in a squad formation, holding an AK-47, looking at the world through the green colored lenses of the gas mask he was wearing.

They appeared to be in some kind of airplane, with a parachute on his back, just like the man in front of him.

A red light turned green and a door opened. Each soldier jumped out of the aircraft. Soon the soldier in front of Austin jumped out, then he followed suit.

Upon landing, he cut his parachute away, and he followed his squad leader into a small town. They moved swiftly and silently, surrounding the village.the order was given, and Austin and the rest of his squad threw napalm grenades and lit various buildings on fire. Then as the people fled their burning homes, he and his squad did as they were instructed, and drew their weapons. They moved into the village and Austin heard the words "Open Fire!" over his radio. A man of the village hurried his wife and children away from the area, but he tripped in front of Austin, who automatically aimed at the guys head.

He felt his finger put pressure on the trigger…

"Austin!"

He bolted upright in sweat, to see Draganta and Spyro standing over him.

"Get up! We're never going to rescue flame at this rate!"

Spyro said gathering the stuff they didn't need and setting fire to it.

"Right…let's get moving." Austin said


	12. Chapter 12 Breaking And Entering

CHAPTER 12- BREAKING AND ENTERING

They walked through the woods until they came to an unpaved road, leading over the mountains in the distance.

"This looks inviting." Spyro said sarcastically

"Yeah, keep a look out for traps." Austin said as they walked along the side of the road, instead of in the middle of it.

They continued through the mountains until they stopped on a snowy mountain top, overlooking what appeared to be a military base, the infamous secret prison and research facility, known as Site 21.

"Well what are we waiting for? lets get in there and save Flame!" Draganta said eager for a fight.

"No...not yet. we need to observe their guard patterns, so we can sneak in and get Flame. if they discover that we are here, then they might kill him before we get a chance to save him."

So Austin, Draganta and Spyro kept a constant watch over the guard movents, camera positions, and guard dog patrols. Soon the sun set over the mountains, the spotlights on the guard towers began thier patrols for escaping prisoners or suspicious activities.

"Well, I've seen enough. What's the plan for tomorrow?" Spyro asked Austin

"We all need a hand in planning this one. What do you guys think is the best way to go?"

They talked strategy until late into the night, until finally agreeing on a plan.

They all went to sleep, readying them for the fight to find flame the next day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Flame."

He slowly opened his eyes, not knowing where he was, or what had happened to him within the last 12 hours.

He focused on the person in front of him. Someone in a white coat. a scientist, he assumed. he tried to move but realized he was strapped down.

"Where am I?"

"You are in the biometrics lab. you are part of a glorious new project that will recapture the western hemisphere and crush the resistance once and for all. You, are now the second sucessful recipient of the Collosus project. The only difference is we added a little something extra for you. We put a control chip on the back of your head, so you will do what we say, when we say to do it."

"Liar! I'll never obey you."

The controller in the scientists hand said different. he pushed a red button, which made a red light on the back of flames head light up in response.

"Flame."

"Yes sir?"

"Excellent. remove yourself from your restraints."

"Yes sir."

Flame ripped the straps away and stood in front of his creator.

"Time to test some of your abilities. Go into the prisoner bay. there is some practice waiting for you."

"Yes sir." he said walking to the arena.

It was an old garage, where Crozier and Serevus sat watching. soon, about twenty prisoners armed with knives, and all other kinds of melee weapons were thrown in with Flame, given the order to kill him.

The first guy threw his knife, stabbing him in the back. He roared in anger and blew an amazing stream of fire, incinerating him, plus the other five around him.

The fight had begun.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Austin was in the same dream from last night. only this time, he picked up where he left off.

He felt his finger put pressure on the trigger, and he felt the recoil of the three round burst, and saw as the man before him dropped to the ground, dead.

"504 move into that village and find the targets!" his squad leader moved into position behind the bushes as he called in an airstrike.

Austin moved along side a house with his squad members, the sound of gunfire and death ringing through the night air.

He kicked in the door and cleared the first room and went upstairs.

After kicking in the door, they found a man and a woman.

The man had a bat, and swung at austin, knocking off his gas mask, revealing his face.

"Austin? what happened to you? we though you were-" The man said, as if he knew Austin some how.

"504 eliminate the threats immediately! Thats an order soldier!" he heard over the radio.

"Aye sir."

He raised his his rifle and squeezed the trigger once again.

He awoke with a start and sat up, sweating like he was the last time.

The sun was still far from rising, and Austin woke up his friends and they went over the plan one last time.

"Okay, Spyro and I will sneak into the cell blocks, Draganta we need you to keep watch with this." he assembled a large caliber rifle with a scope and silencer, and handed it to him, along with a radio.

"We need you to keep an eye out for guards coming toward our position. once inside, we'll open the basement floodgates and get you in with us." Austin explained.

Spyro and Austin applied camoflauge face and body paint and descended down the mountain.

Draganta positioned himself on a good high spot , and he watched his friends through the rifle scope, then looked at a guard tower.

The spotlight was coming closer to their position outside the fence. If they were spotted, it was over. Draganta remembered what Austin said about the thing he was holding. he put the crosshairs over the guard operating the spotlights head, and held it there as best he could.

'He said take a deep breath...and not pull...but squeeze the trigger...' he thought, then he heard the muffled sound of the bullet leaving the gun.

The recoil surprised him but he quickly looked back at where he was aiming, to see if he had hit his mark.

"Bingo! now I can see why he likes these things so much." Draganta said to himself as he looked back to his friends.

They had gotten past the fence and Spyro was now melting the bars on the windows so they could get in.

Draganta checked for more guards, but none came.

"All clear guys. No more guards for miles." he said over the radio

"Copy that Draganta. We'll let you in asap, meet you down stairs."

He put the radio away and glanced to the east, noticing the sun began to peak over the horizon. He'd been so wrapped up in all this that he had never enjoyed the sunrise like he used to, back in the simpler times of ancient China, when he was worshipped like a god. He'd be lying if he said he didnt miss those days... and her. his wife Isabeau. He had to stay here while she and every other dragon he ever knew fled to the dragon realms...this was his noble task, to stay and defend the humans from evil. Nobody said it would be easy...but he didnt know that letting her leave him would be so hard.

Draganta soon snapped out of his daydream and looked at where he last saw Spyro and Austin. They looked to be inside.

He left the rifle there...that wasnt his style. He got down the mountain quickly and waited by the basement door.

As Draganta waited, he couldnt help but remember his wifes face...the warm smile she always had, seemed so close to him, like he had only seen it yesterday.

A loud bang echoed from the other side of the door, and creaked open on its rusted hinges.

Then Spyro peeked his head out.

"There you are! You werent waiting long were you?" Spyro joked.

"Not long at all. lets go find Flame."

They closed the door and locked it behind them, and entered the heart of the evil empire.

**well we're almost done! only a few chapters to go. I dont own spyro, flame, draganta or isabeau. everything else is mine however. see ya next chap. peace! **


	13. Chapter 13 Serial Number 504

CHAPTER 13- SERIAL NUMBER 504

The tunnels below site 21 were only lit by one fluorescent light every 15 feet or so, and to make it worse, they looked like they hadn't been replaced at all since the place was built.

They continued down the hallway until they came to a security room.

Since it was in the basement, there were no guards.

They entered the room and Austin began typing on the keyboard and looking at the monitors of security cameras on the next two levels.

"Still no sign of Flame…The prison blocks are on level 3, I'll turn off some of the security measures to make things a little easier for us…" Austin said they walked down the hallway to a service elevator at the end of the floor, and activated it.

Once in the elevator, the button for level 3 was key card activated.

"Great…looks like we're stopping on level 2." Austin said as they got off the elevator

This level was at least lit consistently. "Ok, Austin you go that way and we'll go the other, meet back here in five minutes with whatever you find." Draganta said

Austin went to the left and Draganta and Spyro went to the right

"What are we looking for again?" Draganta asked

"A keycard...I think I remember what those look like."

They walked down the hallway until coming to a library looking room, with the three guards on this floor, asleep.

"Spyro! I think I see what we're looking for!" Draganta whispered, ducking behind the bookshelves, and noticing the keycards on their belts.

"How can we get those off thier belts without them waking up?" Spyro asked

"Who cares? Lets just kill them and take cards!" Draganta countered

"That does sound faster...I'm down."

They made short work of the guards, but decided to look around the library for a little while.

"Wow...This is weird...Black september has records of everyone that has ever been affiliated with them." Draganta said opening a very large book.

"Hmm...hey! I found an entry about Austin!" Draganta said

"What? That cant be, this is a list of people who served in the Army of the sun! Austin was never a soldier for Black September!" Spyro said in disbelief.

"Lets see what they have on him...Name-Austin, Branch-Army of the sun, Rank-Commander 2nd class, Serial Number- 504, 1st Sucessful recipient of the Collosus experiment." Draganta read

"What? That cant be right..." Spyro said

"Wait, there is more, look at this." Draganta pressed a button on a television monitor and a propaganda tape dated in 2006 began to play.

"Black September is on its way to a Glorious new era of global domination! We will soon rise up from the undergrounds of society and topple the unfair governments of the world! How will we do this, you ask? The answer is quite simple. The collosus experiment has brought us new hope! Our fearless leader General Crozier placed the super soldier in with normal recruits like you, and he has shown his potential, and is now ready to lead us to supreme victory! Austin is now a commander 2nd class and leading a glorius and fearless campaign on the Russian front! Soon Moscow will fall, and the black flag shall fly victoriously over the kremlin, as well as the rest of the world! Hail Crozier!"

As the film played, it showed something that neither Spyro nor Draganta would have believed if they werent seeing it with thier own eyes. Austin was in a Black September uniform, observing a military parade, right beside general Crozier.

The video ended, and Spyro and Draganta were speechless.  
After a long pause, Spyro spoke up

"What does this mean? is Austin working for Black September?"

"I dont know...I have no idea what this means..." Draganta answered

"Lets just keep our guard up, and see what happens. Dont let him know we saw this." Spyro said walking out of the library with Draganta back to the elevator, where Austin was waiting.

"Did you guys find a keycard? Because I didnt."

"Yea...we got one." Spyro said getting into the elevator, and swiping the card, allowing them access to the upper levels of the base.

They got off the elevator on the detention level, where they were immediatly spotted by guards, who began shooting at them.

"I'm out of ammo! Draganta, get your sword ready!" Austin said drawing the one the holy Dragon gave him.

Draganta drew his sword and glanced at Spyro nervously, who nodded him forward.

"I'll shoot a fire bomb and give you guys cover. Ready? Go!" Spyro shot it down the hallway and it exploded, blinding and injuring the attackers.

Draganta and Austin charged ahead, slashing as they went.

Spyro joined them at the end of the hallway, and released the locks on the cells.

The prisoners ran from their cells and out to freedom.

"I dont see Flame..." Austin said looking for him in the rush of people.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Sir! The cell locks on the detention level have just been deactivated!"

"What? Show me the camera feed from sector bravo." Serevus instructed, thinking it was a computer glitch.

What he saw, shocked him.

"The...the prophet...is alive? How? This is impossible..." he said in disbelief.

"I'll alert the general!"

"No need...I sensed his presence since he arrived." Crozier had appeared in out of the shadows

"Serevus, you have failed to kill the prophet yet again. I have tolerated your incompetence for too long, and now you must be relieved from your post."

Before Serevus could even speak, a blade shot out of Croziers sleeve, and through Serevus' chest, dropping him to the ground, dead.

"Soon prophet, we will meet. and you will have your chance to fight me."

He turned to the soldier at the base defense controls

"Activate lockdown security."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The lights in the prison level shut off and red lights began flashing rythmically.

"This is nice...but still no Flame." Spyro said

A single light shown on the elevator.

"I think its a sign." Spyro said as they entered the elevator.

They pressed the top floor, but it seemed the elevator had a mind of its own, the button for the 5th floor lit up, even though no one pressed it.

"This isnt a good sign..." Draganta commented as the doors opened, and they stepped onto the darkened floor.

They walked into a large conference looking room.

"Why are we here?" Spyro asked

"I dont know...this is where the elevator stopped."

They heard a soft clanking noise coming closer to them.

"You hear that?" Draganta asked

Soon he noticed three red dots on Austins chest

Time seemed to slow down as Draganta considered his options.

'Is Austin really a Black September operative? Spyro and I saw proof that he was in the Army of the sun...but he had plenty of oppourtunities to kill both of them...should I save him? Or let whatever follows these dots kill him?'

He had only seconds to decide. He acted swiftly.

A bullet zipped by Austins ear as Draganta pushed him out of the way, his armor absorbing the impact.

"Security robots! find cover!" Austin said scrambling with draganta behind a fallen filing cabinet.

"Well Draganta, any ideas?" Austin asked

"I've got a few..." he said standing up pointing his sword at one of the attacking robots

"Pyrus!" he shouted and a column of fire shot from its point and engulfed the attacker, melting it into a sparking pile of metal.

"Nice. I think Spyro is in trouble!" Austin said looking to the left, to see Spyro cornered by to of them.

Spyro had to think fast.

'These are robots just like the ones the professor builds...and if thats true, then...'

He slammed his claw through the chest plate of the first, and ripped out numerous wires.

Spyro grabbed the dead robots arm cannon, ripped it off and shot the other one in the head, knocking it over, oil covering him he dropped the arm and caught his breath.

"Good job Spyro!" Draganta said throwing him a cloth to wipe the oil off.

The same light came on near the elevator and beckoned them back onto a ride they didnt control.

They got back onto the elevator and the 6th floor button lit up on que, and away they went.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"General Crozier, they are arriving on the 6th level."

"Excellent. prepare the collosus subject number two, and ready the arena."


	14. Chapter 14 The Five Doors

CHAPTER 14- THE FIVE DOORS

"Well this should be fun..." Austin said as they stepped off the elevator onto yet another darkened room.

From touching the walls, they figured out that so far, they were in a hallway.

They continued down the pitch black expanse until the walls separated and bright stadium lights lit the area

"Ow! Too bright!" Draganta said shielding his eyes with his wings, as were Spyro and Austin.

"Well well prophet. You continue to impress me, even when you are supposed to be dead."

"Crozier! Show yourself coward!" Austin commanded into the apparent emptyness.

"Rest assured prophet, you will have your chance to fight me, assuming of course, you get past the...test...we've prepared." Crozier was talking over the intercom system.

Five of the robots from the previous floor appeared from a door at the front of the arena.

"You'll see that there are 5 doors in front of you, and out of each door, a different challenge will come. this test will be most difficult, tell me prophet...did you study?"

"I dont have to study. when war is in your blood, killing is as easy as breathing."

"Hmhmhmhm then let the fun begin!"

The robots aimed at the three of them, and Draganta threw up an energy shield.

"Now what? We dont have any cover!" Austin asked Draganta

"Just point the ice sword at them and say Frigizade!"

He did so, and an ice beam froze them in place.

"Take them out!" Draganta said dropping the shield and drawing his sword and slashing two of the robots in half.

Spyro ripped the heads off of one and threw into the other two, smashing them.

"Good one Draganta..." Spyro said breathing a little labored.

The next door opened and three men in all blacksuits with sunglasses and swords calmly stepped out into the light.

"Hope you practiced your swordplay..." Draganta whispered to Austin

The men charged the three of them and began hacking furiously.

Draganta and Austin were equipped for a sword fight, but Spyro wasnt.

He dodged swipe after swipe, occasionally blocking with his tail, and going on offense when the moment was right.

A particularly lucky thrust cut spyro's arm, causing him to cry out in pain as the cold steel cut through his scales.

Spyro used his tail to cut the assailents arm, making him drop the sword.

Spyro picked up the sword with his good arm and stabbed him through the chest, dropping him.

Draganta clashed swords with his attacker, and sparks flew.

He matched his swordplay move for move, until Draganta hit him in the chest with the hilt, stunning him momentarily, just long enough for him to charge a fury attack he had learned a long time ago. The Celestial Furious charge.

He raised his fire sword and hacked his enemy to bits with blazing speed, so fast that his arms were a blur as they cut his opponent down with an unparalleled speed.

Draganta caught his breath and flicked his sword to clean off the blood.

Austin was the only one who was still fighting his enemy, trying his hardest to fight him off.

He met him blow for blow, and cut his leg, which, to Austins surprise, froze his leg solid to the ground.

Seeing this, he cut the arm his sword was in, freezing it as well. Now he was helpless. Austin rested the point on his enemies chest and said "Frigizade"

An ice beam encased him in a solid block of ice. Austin kicked him in the chest, and he fell to the floor, and shattered into thousands of pieces.

Door number three opened and nothing came out, immediately.

Soon, a robotic cart came out and stopped in front of them.

"What the hell kind of challenge is this?" Draganta asked

On top of the cart, was a rather large metal cylinder, with a few wires sticking out of it, leading a screen.

"I dont know...this is kind of-" Austin was cut off as the screen came to life. it was a timer, set to 25 seconds.

All of thier stomachs dropped simultainiously.

"Its a bomb!" Spyro said as the timer was now down to 23

...22

"What do we do now?!" Draganta asked panicked

...21

"I dont know!" Austin answered

...20

"Cut some of the wires!" Spyro suggested

...15

Austin pulled out his sword and tried to decide which wires to cut.

...10

"C'mon Austin turn this thing off!" Draganta said

...5

Austin made his decision, and cut the blue wire with 2 seconds remaining.

The countdown stopped and the numbers began blinking.

"Phew...that was a close one..." Austin said breathing a sigh of relief as they all did.

The screen then made a beeping noise, and the bomb exploded with immense force, throwing them all into the wall, and throwing hot shards of metal into them and the wall around them.

When the smoke cleared, Austin saw Draganta against the wall, knocked out, and Spyro was cut up, but not seriously hurt, since he was rushing over to him.

He was looking at something, and whatever it was, he was clearly shocked to see it.

Spyro was saying something to him he guessed, because he could see his lips moving, but he couldnt hear anything but muffled noises due to the ringing caused by the blast.

Everything was moving in slow motion and when Spyro reached him, he grabbed his shoulder and pointed to his chest.

Austin looked down, and saw a huge shard of metal sticking out of his chest.

Time seemed to resume its normal flow and Austin regained his hearing upon seeing the sobering image.

"Austin! stay with us!" Spyro said as Draganta came to and joined them.

"What do we do?" Draganta asked.

"Just...pull it out!" Austin said gritting his teeth and closing his eyes.

Draganta grabbed the shrapnel and pulled as hard as he could.

Austin yelled in pain as he slowly pulled it free of his chest.

"Your still bleeding pretty bad...I'll bandage you up." Spyro said as Draganta handed him a bandage.

"Why havent I healed myself yet?"

"I think your nano bots in your blood are inactive for some reason." Spyro said, remembering what the professor told him.

"Just bandage me up and I'll be fine." Austin said standing up on his shaking legs.

"Besides...we still have two doors left..." Austin said drawing his sword

The fourth door opened and exact replicas of the three of them appeared in the doorway, swords and fangs at the ready.

They attacked thier clones, and began to fight once more.

Spyro's clone was using his flame breath to maximum effectiveness

Spyro dodged his attacks and used his blizzard fury to freeze his opponents legs to the floor.

As the evil Spyro stuggled to move the normal Spyro summoned sharp ice crystals and threw them into his assailents body, over and over again, until he took his final breaths.

Draganta was having way better luck with his advarsary than Austin, as he noticed Austin barely holding off his clone.

"Austin! Use your ice beam!" Draganta said as he blocked his replicas sword thrusts

He did and his clone was frozen to the floor temporarily.

Draganta kicked his enemy in the chest and sent him reeling near Austins paralyzed foe.

"I've got them now. Vortex Fury!" he shouted as he opened a swirling dark whirlpool behind them sucking them through it, then he closed it as soon as it was opened.

"What was that?" Spyro asked

"Vortex fury...it takes a lot...of energy. It'll be a few days before I can use it again." He answered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"General Crozier, they have defeated the fourth challenge. what should we do?"

"Well done prophet. Is 505 ready for combat?" Crozier asked

"Yes sir, he is behind the 5th door now."

"Excellent. turn on the intercom system."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Prophet! you and your friends have impressed me to get this far, but you will not pass the 5th test, I assure you. release number 505!"

The 5th door opened and the light shown on what was behind it, and none of them believed thier eyes.


	15. Chapter 15 Rise Of The DarkStar

CHAPTER 15- RISE OF THE DARKSTAR

"No way...it cant be..." Austin said in shock

"It is." Flame answered

"Flame! thank the gods your alive!" Spyro said as he went to approach him, but was stopped by Draganta's tail

"Careful, something isn't right here." he said drawing his sword

"You're right there Draganta, something isnt right." he said as he dashed with amazing speed at him, crashing shoulder first into his chest, sending him against the wall.

Austin saw this and drew his own sword, still weak from his bomb injury, he slashed at flames back, cutting a large gash diagonally across his scales.

he roared and turned his attention to Austin, giving Draganta enough time to regain his composure.

"You want some Flame? I like you, but I wont hesitate to kick your ass." Austin threatened slowly backing up as flame advanced.

"You talk a big game for someone who has lost as much blood as you have." Flame said grinning slighly

"Dont forget that I can back it up!" Austin said as he attacked with everything he had, slashing and charging as Flame countered effortlessly, his improvements working flawlessly.

Austin was getting weaker by the blow, so Draganta stepped in with his fire sword, and soon Flame was fighting two swordsmen at once, and Spyro then joined the fray, but Flame seemed to be everywhere at once, blocking every shot they took, then he charged and electric fury attack, and released it, throwing the three of them in separate directions.

"Where did he learn a fury attack? I thought only you knew those Spyro!" Austin asked

"So did I!" he responded coughing

"Is this all you've got? I expected more from you three." Flame mocked

Spyro noticed two blinking red lights on the back of Flames head. he looked closer and saw that it was a computer chip! 'that must be why Flame is attacking us!' he thought

he mouthed the words 'keep him distracted' to Draganta, who promptly stood up and did what he could to keep Flames back to Spyro.

He crept up softly behind flame, and slowly reached his hand up to the back of his head and...

The lifelessness in Flames eyes faded, and he dropped the sword he was wielding

"What...happened?" Flame asked, then looked at the condition of his friends, and remembered everything that had happened to him.

"Holy crap...did I do this to you guys?" he asked fearfully

"No Flame...we stopped you before you could do any serious damage." Austin said finding the strength to stand

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Sir, 505 has been deactivated!"

"Hm...I should have expected this. looks like I must deal with the prophet myself. raise the arena floor to the surface."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The floor they were standing on began to raise into the air, and the roof opened up to reveal the overcast skies.

The platform then became level with the ground, and they found themselves in an open field outside the perimeter of the base, surrounded by upwards of 100,000 armed Black September soldiers, armor, and helicopters.

And in the middle of it all, was General Crozier, his black robe blowing slightly in the wind, but never revealing even an inch of his skin.

"Congratulations prophet, you completed the 5 tests, and got your friend back. but now, I cannot let you fulfill your prophecy, so now you will die."

"No Crozier, we have come too far to give up. it is your turn to die.

"That is the answer I hoped you would give me. READY!"

The army of soldiers loaded and cocked their guns, and Draganta, Spyro, Flame and Austin stood shoulder to shoulder in a square formation.

"AIM!"

Hundreds of red laser dots appeared on all of them, all over their body, but they kept their cool.

"Guys, when he says fire, get down." Draganta whispered to all of them, and they nodded in agreement.

"FIRE!"

The bullets only had time to leave the barrels of their guns before Draganta used all his remaining power for one final attack, the Apocalypse fury.

Flame, Austin and Spyro hit the dirt, as Draganta released a dome of energy that ballooned out about 50 feet, incinerating the incoming bullets. The very top of the dome pushed downward back to Draganta, flattening it out, then sending the energy ring radiating outward, turning the opposing forces to dust. this ring would have encompassed a 60 mile radius, but he had already used a great amount of energy, so it was only effective to a range of 3 miles.

Spyro got off the ground and helped his friends up as well.

Draganta was on one knee, breathing heavily, as he had used up all of his power for offense.

"Draganta...you did it...we beat Black September..." Austin said cautiously optimistic.

"Hahahahaha, that was quite a firework show you put on Draganta, but it was not nearly strong enough to defeat me."

"No...it's not possible..." Draganta gasped, still winded.

"I should have known..." Austin said in disbelief

Crozier was standing in the same place as before the attack, still in his signature robe.

he glided over to them and stopped in front of them.

"You knew this day would come prophet...now you and your friends will suffer the wrath of Ra!"

Croziers robe shone from the inside a black beam of energy, and it was soon burned away to reveal, just a ball of dark energy, floating in space in front of them.

"Behold my true form! I am Ra! God of the DarkStar!"

Austin drew his sacred blade, Spyro gathered all his energy, as did Flame and Draganta.

"We will destroy you!" Austin said as his friends took up positions behind him.

"Yes...rally around your fearless leader, but tell me, do you know of the darkness of his past?" Ra asked, his voice booming across the mountains.

"What is he talking about?" Flame whispered to Spyro

"Allow me to enlighten you. Austin was one of our top commanders, but he went soft on us and tried to desert. he shot his way out, just as we rose up and took over the planet. one mission made you turn on us, and knowing you, you told them that I killed your parents didnt you?"

Austin looked down, and said softly, but loud enough for them to hear...

"I killed them..."

His allies were shocked.

"What? how could..." Spyro said

"I had no choice! If I had told you that I used to work for them, would you have trusted me?" Austin snapped, reliving painful memories.

"But how could you kill your own parents?" Spyro asked softly

"I was ordered to...I followed orders...its all I was built to do."

"We made you what you are, and you turned on us! now you will die in disgrace."

"No crozier, I may have a dark past, but I will ensure my memory will be brighter than the sun!" Austin shouted as he grabbed his sword and quickly grabbed Dragantas, before he could stop him.

"Now this ends!" Austin shouted as he crossed the two holy swords and their energy fused together, and released a powerful beam of red and blue energy, draining Austins energy as it flowed from the end of the swords.

The energy beam slammed into the dark ball of energy that was Crozier, and was now Ra.

It screamed in pain but countered with a beam of dark energy that met his in the middle of the distance between the two. Soon, Austins beam began to lose the stalemate.

Draganta stepped beside him and put his hand over Austins, giving what was left of his energy to the fight, adding a silver streak to the beam.

Spyro followed suit on the other side, adding purple, and Flame did the same, adding a brighter red.

The Dark beam began to retreat slowly, then was only inches away from the dark mass.

Then it impacted his form, causing an ungodly scream of pain as Ra exploded in a blaze of multicolored energy waves.

Austin dropped the swords and fell flat on his back, as did Draganta. Spyro and Flame looked over them as they heard the roar of approaching jet engines.

"Those are our boys..." Austin said looking at them as they flew over and dropped their bombs on site 21

"We did it guys...Black september has been defeated..." Austin whispered to Draganta

"We did...the world is free again..." Draganta spoke softly

Helicopters flew overhead and dropped soldiers on their position, the medics grabbed the two seriously injured and Spyro and Flame and hurried them into the helicopter.

They took off, and Austin grabbed Spyro's shoulder, he grabbed Flames, and he grabbed Draganta.

Austin used the portal activator the professor gave him the first time they came to his realm, and set it to Avalars coordinates.

In a flash, they were gone.

**one chapter to go!! hope you guys liked the battle chapter!**


	16. Chapter 16 Return Of The Heroes

CHAPTER 16- RETURN OF THE HEROES

"Everyone! They will be here soon! is everything ready?" Ember asked loudly looking at the four elders whom she had enslaved...er...enlisted to help with the banners and victory party for the returning heroes.

"Yes Ember...ugh I'm too old for this!" Terrador complained rubbing his back after placing a particularly heavy table.

"Snow! There you are! where have you been?" Ember asked hugging her

"I've got a bad feeling about this...what if something happened to them?" she said with a look of deep concern.

"The professor said that they were on there way now, with an extra dragon. Everything will be fine, they will flash back to the stage, standing just as tall and proud as they were when they left!" Ember said confidently

As they watched the stage, the professor came running into the village square as fast as his tiny legs could carry him

"They're coming! They're almost here!" he shouted excitedly

"Quickly Ignitus! Cover the statue!" Cyril said as Ignitus threw a large sheet over the monument made out of the guns they melted down to honor them.

A few lightning bolts shot from thin air, then a blinding light flash, then it disappeared, leaving the four heroes.

At first, they were all standing, and the crowd cheered, but then saw the condition they were in, and the cheers slowly died down. they weren't the immaculate heroes they expected...

Austin was still in his blood soaked bandages, and torn shorts and shirtless.

Spyro was scratched up from head to toe,some worse than others, but he was still bleeding, wobbling as he stood looking out over the crowd.

Flame was the least injured, but that wasn't saying much, he had a bandage over his head, and his arm in a sling made of what was left of Austins shirt.

Draganta was not showing his injuries, but his energy levels were dangerously low.

All at once, they collapsed, causing a simultaneous gasp from the crowd.

The elders rushed to their sides and teleported them to the hospital wing of the Dragon temple.

A few days after their welcome back 'party', they were still recovering in the hospital. Winter had set in deeply and snow was falling on the ground about a few feet deep.

Spyro was the only one besides Flame that was conscious, and he was flipping through the channels of the T.V. in their room, until he noticed Ember walked in.

"Feeling better?" she asked sweetly as she sat down at the side of Spyro's bed

"I am now...the scenery just improved for some reason..." he laughed slightly

"Remember what you told me before you left for this crazy adventure?"

"Umm...maybe..." Spyro said trying desperately to buy some time to think of what he said

"Let me help you out. You said that you would come back in one piece, and look at you now." she said lowering her eyes at him

"What you talking bout? Am I not in one piece?"

"That is not what I meant! ugh...you are impossible...but I missed you." she said burying her head in his chest, and holding his hand.

Spyro looked over at Flame and Snow. they were both sleeping soundly in Flames bed like he and Ember were.

He looked over at Austin and Draganta, they still worried him, since they hadn't woken up since they passed out on the stage, and Austin's wound didn't look any better, even with clean bandages.

Draganta looked fine on the outside, but he was just like Austin...still...unmoving...just sleeping...as far as he knew.

Austin was laying on his stomach, and spyro noticed another tattoo on his back, it was rather large and it was of a skeleton in a black robe, holding a list in one hand, and a scythe in the other.

"I never noticed that before, that looks pretty bad ass." Spyro said as the Professor walked in to check on them

"Ahh yes, according to my research on Black September, each soldier was tattooed with their program insignia, this one is from the Colossus experiment. Flame more than likely has on as well." the professor took his leave and left them alone.

A few weeks passed and Austin and Draganta still hadnt waken up yet. according to the healers, they were in a comatose state, and it was uncertain if they would ever recover.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Austin awoke...he sat up and looked around.

He was not in a familiar place...he seemed to be laying on a cloud, with Draganta still by his side.

"Draganta! Wake up bro!" Austin said shaking him

"Uhh...huh? What...where are we?"

I don't know, I just woke up here!"

They stood up on the cloud floor and looked around.

"What the hell? Is this heaven or something?" Draganta asked

"Yes." A booming voice said

Austin and Draganta turned around and saw a set of gold gates, and a figure in a glowing white robe.

"Draganta! Austin! I am the guardian of heavens realm! You think you are worthy to enter?"

"Wait. So does that mean we're dead?" Austin asked

"You are halfway between life and death. Not many people get to decide weather they want to live or die, so consider yourselves lucky." The Gatekeeper said

"Well before I make my decision, can I at least know if I could even get in?" Draganta asked

"Yes...very well..." The Gatekeeper opened a large book

"Hmm...Draganta...Draganta...Ah here we are! Lets see here, Protector of eastern China...fighting evil...yes Draganta, you are clear to enter."

"What about me?" Austin asked, unsure of the answer, since he had been pretty bad for a while.

"Right...Hmm...Oh...Wow. Quite a list you have here...lets see...killing of civilians, murder, beatings, dictatorship...your rap sheet is bad...but, you have been good since your escape from the army of the sun...hm...looks like you barely made it. You both can enter for 10 minutes and see how you like it. Now if you'll excuse me I have a lot more people to judge, thanks to the two of you." the Gatekeeper said annoyed.

Austin and Draganta turned around and saw a long line of Black September soldiers, all still sporting their wounds, some missing still limbs.

"Hey there." Austin waved to the people he had caused to be here in the first place.

They waved back, which was surprising

"Hey! you missing the arm! no bleeding on the clouds!" Shouted the Gatekeeper

"Sorry!" someone way down the line yelled back

"Ugh its going to be a long eternity...get in there you two."

The Gatekeeper opened the gates and they walked into a pasture with the softest, greenest grass they had ever felt or seen. the sky was a cloudless pristine blue, and a very comfortable breeze blew lazily across the pasture, where a crystal castle sat in the distance.

"Where is everybody?" Draganta asked

"Lets fly to the castle, maybe thats where the people are." Austin said spreading his wings

They landed in the center of the town outside the castle, mansions lined the streets and were made of solid gold and silver and platinum.

"Wow...this is classy." Austin said as he and Draganta walked down the street, which incidentally, was also paved with gold.

They walked into the castle and saw that it was filled with Dragons, humans, and all kinds of spirits.

They arrived at the front desk with a dragoness sitting behind it

"Can I help you?" she asked

"Yes, can you locate someone for me?" Draganta asked

"Sure, name?"

"Isabeau."

"Species?"

"Dragoness."

"Hmmm...no death record...she is still among the living."

"Thank you, thats all I needed to know." he said turning to Austin

"Well, I cant stay, I've got to see my wife."

"I'm not staying if you aren't, and I think our ten minutes is up." Austin said walking out of the castle

They flew back to where they had come in, and came out of the gate.

"Well? stay or go?" he asked impatiently

"Go. Its nice in there, but all of our friends are still alive, so if you don't mind, we'd like to go back to Avalar." Austin said

"Suit yourself." He snapped his fingers and the two of them awoke in the hospital wing of the temple.

Austin looked around and saw Spyro and Ember passed out leaning against each other, and Flame and Snow were sleeping in his bed.

Ember stirred and cracked her eyelids.

She nudged Spyro and lept up from the chair, making Spyro fall over and onto the floor.

"Ow! What the hell!" Spyro complained holding his head.

"They're awake!" Ember cried excitedly as she put Austin in a death grip hug.

"Ember...I wont be for much longer...if you don't let me breathe..." He said gasping for air as she released and went over to Draganta, who flinched at first, but was just kidding with her.

"How long were we out for?" Austin asked

"Four weeks, we thought you guys weren't ever gonna wake up." Snow said as she hugged the both of them as well.

"Well now that you're awake, lets get something to eat, I'm starving, and all we've eaten is hospital food for four weeks." Spyro said as his stomach rumbled loudly.

"Agreed." Draganta said as they all left the temple.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

EPILOGUE

"After we ate, Draganta went to Ignitus and the other elders to ask about where he could find his wife. She apparently lives on the southernmost island of Dragon shores, so that is where he set off to. We of course offered to join him, but he said it was a personal journey, which is understandable, since she is his wife. He said he would be back, but he wasn't sure when. Ember and I are actually ready to try for children, which is something I personally cant wait for! Hehe, but that is a topic for another day. Flame and Snow are trying for kids as well, since the war is over, Avalar is peaceful again, and it will be a lot easier raising kids when you aren't in a war zone. Austin decided to spend the majority of his time in Avalar with us, leaving his realm in Jessica's control. Ignitus and the other elders built him a house right next to the temple! And he filled it with all kinds of stuff from his realm, humans have some pretty interesting things...but anyway, we didn't see it at first, but the elders had built us a statue! It's the four of us standing back to back, facing outward, Austin and Draganta with their swords stuck in the ground, Julia by Austin's side. Flame and I are holding Ember and Snow, which was pretty appropriate, plus every time she sees it, she kisses me. Definitely a plus. I'm so glad to be back here, not fighting anyone, or being chased by anything...but I know it wont last, soon some bad guy will start causing trouble in Avalar, and once again, it will be me fighting him. But I've got friends to help me out, so its not so bad, as a matter of fact, its been a while since I've kicked some ass, so... I'm kind of looking forward to it. Hehe, Yeah, but until that day, all is right with the world.  
For now.

**THE END**

**there you have it. sorry it wasn't a cliffhanger, or twist ending, but I think it closes up nicely. but its not about what I think, what do you guys and/or girls think? let me know! **  
as for my other stories, I'll probably finish up L's kingdom, and maybe look into restarting my other one. till then  
**Peace!**


End file.
